


Season Six

by theredrobin



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fanmade Season Six, Gen, Post-Series, robin-centric, with the occasional cracky cringeworthy filler moments, you know like the real show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-04 06:30:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 60,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12163383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theredrobin/pseuds/theredrobin
Summary: The Teen Titans are back. This time, Robin's past comes back to haunt him in ways he never thought possible.





	1. Vanished

**Author's Note:**

> Back in 2007, I tried writing a continuation of the series, which ended much too soon for me.

"Home sweet home!"

Beast Boy threw himself onto the couch while the other Titans, weighed down by luggage, wearily trudged into the tower after their long flight from Tokyo.

It had been a pretty good trip in general, if you overlooked Cyborg ticking off that sushi chef. And Beast Boy accumulating an insane all-girl fanbase, which Cyborg still believed to be a hoax. Of course, there was that small incident where Robin was unjustly incarcerated for a murder he did not commit, followed by his great escape which led to all of Tokyo turning against the Teen Titans. Oh, and the whole ordeal with Commander Daizo controlling the supposedly mythical Brushogun for fame and recognition in the city.

Still, all in all, a pretty good trip.

After all, Robin and Starfire had finally admitted their feelings for one another, much to the relief of their friends.

Once cleared of all false charges to their name by the Mayor of Tokyo and publicly acknowledged for their heroic deeds, Robin, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg remained a little longer to take in the sights of the city just as Cyborg and Beast Boy had wanted. The second half of their trip had been much more enjoyable than the first. Robin and Starfire spent practically every waking moment together, Cyborg gained almost ten pounds by 'sampling' all the fine dining Tokyo had to offer his bottomless stomach, Raven found something to read at last, and Beast Boy was granted special permission to head back into the abandoned comic book factory so he could claim any complimentary issues he found as his own.

Raven levitated her bags to rest near the couch Beast Boy was sprawled upon and then headed to the kitchen to fix a cup of soothing herbal tea. She had a bit of a headache thanks to Beast Boy's stirring rendition of "I Know a Song that Gets on Everybody's Nerves" during the last leg of the ride on the T-Ship. After he hit the chorus for the seventeenth time with no sign of stopping any time soon, Raven had snapped and encased his face with her magic to get a little peace and quiet, making it look like he had a black fishbowl stuck on his head during the remainder of the ride home.

"Friends, I am off to do the unpacking of my bags and then I believe I shall retire for the night as I am quite exhausted from our journey," Starfire told the others as she floated towards the hallway.  
Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg wished her a good night. Robin, on the other hand, waited a minute and then followed in her wake.

He gave a quiet knock on her door and smiled as she opened it wide enough for him to see that she had already emptied the contents of her bag, which were now scattered all over her room.

"Yes, Robin?" Starfire inquired, her eyebrow drawing together in that way that always made him grin.

"I just came to, uh, say goodnight," Robin answered, stepping forward to softly kiss her on the lips.

Starfire reached a hand up to cradle the back of his neck and pressed her lips a little harder to his before slipping away. "Goodnight," she giggled, sliding her bedroom door shut in a haze of happiness.

"Good night," he echoed dazedly.

He stared at her door until the sound of throat being cleared made him jump. Robin whirled around to see Raven was behind him, a cup of tea in hand and a smirk playing on her lips that told him she had seen too much. He flushed.

"Good night, Robin." Her voice was monotone and yet somehow it was still dripping with laughter.

"Er, good night," he muttered, still blushing fiercely.

He headed back to the common room and found Cyborg and Beast Boy there.

"Well, I'm gonna crash too," Beast Boy yawned as Robin sank onto the couch. "I'm wiped."

"Aw c'mon, the night is young," Cyborg protested.

"Hey, I need my beauty sleep so I can keep looking great for the ladies!"

Cyborg mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'those Tokyo chicks are nuts,' before cracking a devious grin. "Okay. I guess I'll just have to play Galactic Doom VII all by myself then."

In a flash, Beast Boy was back on the couch staring at the game Cyborg held in his hand like it was the Holy Grail. "No way," he practically squealed, "where did you get that? It's not coming out for another three months. How did you—?"

"We were in Tokyo. Stuff really does come out earlier over there. But since you're not up to it, there is a one-player mode…"

Before Cyborg even finished his sentence, Beast Boy had set up the Gamestation and returned to the couch with two controllers in hand.

"It's on."

Cyborg's eyes narrowed. "You're going down, grass stain."

Robin watched them pummel bears armed with lasers with a mild interest for a half-hour before he realized that it was Cyborg's turn for night patrol.

"Um, Cyborg?" Robin tried as Beast Boy and Cyborg continued to slam down on the control buttons.

"Yeah, ma—oh no you didn't! Cheater!" Cyborg interrupted himself getting angrily to his feet, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"Dude, that is totally allowed!"

"Right," Robin said as he headed towards the front door. "Listen, guys, I'm going out to patrol for an hour or so, just to check up on how the city's been since Cyborg's, uh, busy."

"Thanks, Rob—ha! You're going down, sucker!"

-T-

Robin flew over the gap that separated two building with ease, landing on the opposite rooftop before rolling gracefully back into run in one fluid movement. He loved doing night patrol mostly because he could get away with being a little reckless without his team worrying. Grabbing onto a fire-escape rail, he tucked his legs in before spinning around it and then letting go to propel himself further.

He stopped to catch his breath for a few minutes, scanning the shady streets below him. It was nights like this that he missed the old times, those early days when everything was so new and thrilling to him. Fighting crime was still exciting and he would never in a million years dream of giving it up, but somehow it just wasn't the same. Not like before.  
Shaking himself, Robin made to start his rooftop run once again when he felt a sharp pain explode at the back of his head. He fell forward onto his knees with a groan before another pain as equally excruciating as the first rocked him. It was the last thing Robin knew before the darkness took over.

-T-

It was four in the morning when Starfire woke up with a dry throat. Gently setting down Silkie, she made her way out into the hall. Bleary-eyed, Starfire dimly noticed that Robin's bedroom door was wide open and walking past, she also saw that it was empty. Tired and disoriented, she wondered where he was as she headed towards the kitchen.

Entering the common room, Starfire was immediately forced to shy away from a glaring light that blinded her as the doors slid open. Once her eyes adjusted a bit, she headed to the couch. Beast Boy and Cyborg were slumped there, both awash in the blue glow of the television screen that blinked Game Over. She smiled to herself and floated over to the sink to pour herself a glass of water.

"M'up, Robin," Cyborg slurred as he jolted awake at the noise, peering into the darkness.

"My apologies, Cyborg, I did not mean to disturb you," Starfire whispered to him as Beast Boy was still fast asleep.

"Star?" said Cyborg, stifling a yawn. "When did Robin get back? We were waiting up for him."

She stilled at his words. "I have not seen Robin. He was not in his room." Her breath caught. "Where has he gone?"

"Night watch," he said, a little more awake. "He's not back? It has to be late though." He squinted at the clock and now he looked concerned. "You're sure he's not in his room?"

Starfire nodded as Beast Boy let out a particularly loud snort in his sleep.

Cyborg pushed the communicator button on his arm and set it to Robin's frequency before speaking into it. "Robin? You there, man?"  
Static was the only response.

"Robin, answer," he demanded again. Starfire drew closer to the couch to listen.

Nothing.

Cyborg tried tracking Robin's signal and finding his heat signature, but both came up empty. He was starting to get worried, but he made his face stay blank so as not to panic Starfire. He called Robin's communicator again.

"Damn it," he swore softly when Robin didn't pick up. "Um, Star, how about you go call Raven so maybe she can help find him…" He saw the fear rising in Starfire's eyes, and quickly tacked on "…faster."

When she left the room, Cyborg turned to Beast Boy and shook him by the shoulder. "Beast Boy, get up. Wake up! Robin's not back from patrol."

Though he had planned on drifting back to sleep, Beast Boy shot up at Cyborg's last sentence. "What?" he said loudly before Cyborg shushed him. He started again in a whisper, "What do you mean he's not back?"

"Starfire said he isn't in his room. He's not answering his communicator and I can't read him on any of my scanners. I'm trying not to make Star go into hysterics before we have to, but this doesn't look good."

Before Beast Boy could respond, Raven swept into the common room, an anxious-looking Starfire behind her. Cyborg quickly explained the situation. Starfire covered her mouth with her hands while Raven immediately folded her legs into a levitating lotus position. The others watched her with bated breath.

"I can't sense him either," she told them after a few minutes, opening her eyes which were clouded with worry.

"We must go out and find him," Starfire declared to the others, already flying full speed towards the door.

-T-

Cyborg scoured the streets from the T-Car, its motor roaring as he carefully scanned the roadways with his human eye and the shadows with his cybernetic one.

Morphing, Beast Boy attempted to track Robin's scent in blood-hound form, but he couldn't detect the slightest hint of where Robin might be. It was as if there wasn't a scent to be found in the first place.

On the rooftops, Raven paused yet again to seek out Robin's aura, but she came up blank. Sighing and struggling to contain her unease, she took off once more to keep searching.

The night air whipped around Starfire as she flew back and forth across the city. Tears, stinging and hot, blurred her vision every few minutes. When she reached the Jump City boundaries once again without any sign of Robin, she drifted down onto the roof of a nearby building and gave over to the despair she had been struggling with and broke down completely. After a few minutes, she forced herself to swallow her tears and gulping in deep breaths of the cold, early morning air, Starfire took to the skies once more.

By the time the sun had fully risen and Jump City was bustling with life, Robin was still nowhere to be found.

He had vanished without a trace.


	2. Bird Watching

It had been two weeks.

Fourteen solid days of frantic searching, of heavy silences in the tower, of sleepless nights that ended with the team members chancing across one another as they blankly stared inside of Robin's empty room.

They had no idea where he could have gone, but the options were either he had simply left or he'd been taken. They were more inclined to believe the latter as the pang it brought on was slightly less sharp.

There was little time to be buried by anguish though. Jump City's remaining criminals and villains continued striking hard, so when the Titans weren't looking for Robin, they still had their duties to see to. Then they would pick up the hunt right where they had left it off when the alarm interrupted them.

It was late in the evening while Beast Boy sat listlessly on the common room couch. He gazed out the window with a glazed expression on his fox features, looking but not really seeing as dusk fell. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small figure in the skyline approaching the tower very slowly and deliberately. Beast Boy focused upon it as the figure took clearer shape, revealing it to be Starfire returning from another futile aerial sweep. She entered the room through the main entryway with an unfathomable look on her face.

"Hey, Star," Beast Boy said, morphing back into his human form and quickly plastering a fake grin on his own face. "Any luck?"

Starfire shook her head. "Not as of yet, Beast Boy, but I know we shall find him soon. It is just as the times before. We are simply not looking hard enough."

Beast Boy killed the sound of disbelief he felt stick in his throat. _Not looking hard enough?_ He begged to differ. Yesterday, he and Cyborg spent the entire afternoon exploring the sewers. Beast Boy doubted he would ever get that nauseating odor off his body. He settled for giving Starfire a quick nod instead.

She had been almost unusually composed during this entire nightmare. Out of all the Titans, she had been the one to constantly encourage her friends to keep up each of their frequent scouts a few minutes longer or convince them to eat something to keep their strength up while touching almost nothing herself. Beast Boy contemplated telling her that he and the others could see right through her front, but then again, she was probably acting that way just as much for herself as for the rest of them.

"I shall go and rest before continuing my search. You shall accompany me this time?" Starfire added that last part with an almost undetectable undertone of desperation to it. Almost.

"Of course," Beast Boy assured her with a wave of his hand. "Just call me when you're ready."

As the door slid shut behind her, Beast Boy let his false smile falter and he shifted into a kitten, curling into a tight ball.

_Where the hell are you, Robin?_

-T-

In her own room, Starfire didn't have to keep up that mask of confidence anymore.

The minute she heard her door click shut, she collapsed onto her round bed, muffling her sobs in her pillow. Silkie, seeing his _k'norfka_ so distressed, wriggled towards her, burbling his own soft tones of sadness. Starfire took Silkie into her arms and clutched him closely.

"Robin," she choked out, letting the despair that had been mounting inside consume her.

Starfire wanted to stay strong for her friends. If she fell to pieces, it was just one more burden for them; so, she bottled up her sorrow, hiding it from the others as best she could, and only letting it out when she was alone.

And she was alone now.

-T-

Raven slipped out of her bedroom after another long period of meditation. Not that it really helped at this point. Apprehension plagued her no matter what spiritual plane she traveled to. At this point, meditation was just barely keeping her inner turmoil in check so she wouldn't destroy everything she laid eyes on and clearing her senses enough for her to seek out Robin's presence.

Nothing to report on that front either. It was as if he was…

 _No, that's not even a possibility_.

Gliding along the passageway, Raven heard soft crying coming from the other side of Starfire's door. She stopped and lingered there a moment. While it was good for Starfire to let out her emotions like this since she had taken to concealing her grief while in front of the team, Raven wanted to comfort her. But what was there to say? She continued on her way.

Farther down the hallway, she could hear the tell-tale clacking of a keyboard from the crack beneath Cyborg's bedroom door. Pausing in front of it, she hesitated for a second before knocking.

"Come on in," called Cyborg.

Though the room was dark, Raven peered straight at the corner where Cyborg's computer was, knowing full-well that's where he'd be. Sure enough, there he sat, tapping away at the keys of his massive supercomputer, scarcely blinking his one human eye.

"Have you gotten off that thing at all today?" Raven started in an exasperated tone.

His only answer was an abrupt shake of the head.

Raven tried again. "Have you eaten anything?"

Another shake.

She fought the impulse to spin him around to face her with her powers, sighing. Turning around to exit his room, she told him, "You need to eat. Come into the kitchen before we make our rounds tonight and I'll fix us all something."

Cyborg grimaced slightly as he recalled her attempt at pancakes. He heard the door slide to a close and only then did he stop hacking away at the keyboard to draw a hand over his exhausted face.

 _It's all my fault,_ he told himself for the thousandth time. _If only had gone instead of letting him pick up the slack for me. I never should have let him go. I swear if I had known…_

The guilt he felt was massive and it affected the way he acted around the others. He knew they were aware it was his turn to patrol Jump City that night and he was waiting for one of them to let him have it. It was his responsibility and because of his laziness, Robin had gone out to watch the city himself and look what had happened.

Cyborg heaved a shuddering breath before shutting off his computer and heading for the common room. If he didn't show up by himself, he had no doubts whatsoever that Raven would teleport his stubborn ass down there and force feed him.

-T-

"How are they?" was the first thing that leapt from Beast Boy's lips as Raven entered the common room looking worn.

"Not good," Raven replied tiredly. "Cyborg's still beating himself up over the shift switch, and Starfire…has been better."

Beast Boy moved off the couch towards the counter where Raven was scrounging up something edible. "Um, so how are you?" he asked, looking down at his feet.

Raven faced him, her expression softening a little.

Before she could muster a response, Cyborg walked in. Wordlessly, he took over Raven's position of fixing the meal. "You know you can't cook," he commented with the ghost of a grin flitting across his face.

Beast Boy broke into a wide smile, his fang poking out over his bottom lip. Even Raven's lips twitched at the corners.

The doors slid open again. Starfire had made sure that no trace of tears remained on her pale face, but her eyes gave away everything.

"Hey, Starfire," Raven greeted. "Cyborg, Beast Boy, and I are all going out tonight to look, so we thought maybe you could stay…"

Starfire quelled the rest of Raven's words with a brisk shake of the head. "No, Raven, I shall accompany you. I am…well rested from the nap I just awoke from."

Knowing her words to be a complete lie, Raven bit her lip but didn't insist. If this was the way Starfire coped, then so be it. A leaden silence passed over them all. They were a million miles away from each other although they were all thinking about the very same thing.

Starfire couldn't take it. "I am going to the roof to see the setting of the sun. I shall return shortly." She left the common room just before the tears spilled down her cheeks.

Climbing the small flight of stairs that led to the Tower roof, Starfire's chest constricted as she remembered all the sunsets she had seen from this spot with Robin, how each one had painted the sky's canvas with hues impossible to recreate with human hands.

Looking directly over the edge as soon as she reached the roof, she watched the sun nestle behind a pair of clouds. Starfire turned her head slightly to glance over the expanse of the rooftop.

It was then her heart stopped.

Not even a stone's throw away was Robin, laying facedown on the cold concrete.


	3. Amnesia

"Oh, _X'hal_ ," breathed Starfire, tears springing to her eyes as she flew forward in a blind panic.

Though Robin's body was only a few feet away, she felt like an eternity passed before she reached his side. The moment she did, Starfire dropped to her knees.

"Robin," she whispered, her trembling hands gently rolling his limp body over. "Robin, please…"

His eyes were shut and his skin was an unnaturally pale color. There were scratches covering his face, blood either trickling from or dried over the marks, and rips all over his costume. Starfire swept his unkempt hair from his brow and her skin came into contact with his. She jerked back upon feeling how feverishly warm his forehead was and only then did she notice the sheen of sweat that shone on his face. He was so very still.

Fear rocked Starfire's body and she swiftly shifted her hand so that it hovered over Robin's nostrils and mouth. She felt his faint breath ticking her palm and almost wept with relief as that newborn terror dissipated as quickly as it appeared.

Rousing herself, Starfire realized Robin needed medical attention quickly. In one fluid movement, she hooked her arms behind his neck and his knees, cradling him gently to her breast as she shot into the air.

"Raven! Cyborg! Beast Boy!" she yelled frantically, hurtling through the air towards the common room.

"Star, what happ—oh my God." Beast Boy's eyes grew wide as they fell upon Robin in her arms. "Robin! Oh, shit. Guys, get out here now!"

Raven and Cyborg ran into the hallway outside the kitchen and the pair of them froze seeing not two, but three of their teammates huddled in the passageway.

"Please," Starfire croaked. "I fear he is in need of medical assistance."

Raven shook her head to clear it. "Cyborg, come with me to med bay. Starfire, follow us."

Once in med bay, Starfire delicately placed Robin on the nearest bed. Cyborg immediately set to work hooking him up to a heart monitor and an IV drip. A steady beeping filled the room.

Beast Boy turned to Starfire, who stood at Robin's bedside with a helpless expression on her face. "Where did you find him?"

"On the roof of the tower," Starfire explained with a shaky breath. "He was just lying there not moving…" Her voice broke.

Raven's eyes narrowed slightly. "Wait. Are you sure this is Robin?"

The room went silent, save for the blipping of Robin's heart monitor.

Cyborg found his voice first. "You honestly don't think that this isn't him, do you?"

"It won't hurt to check," she replied evenly.

"Make sure," Beast Boy said firmly. "Go on. Do that mind-probey thing and look for your 'mental bond' with him or whatever."

Raven shot him a scathing look before folding her legs into a meditative stance and focusing all her energy into examining Robin's weak aura. She found nothing but pain and grief on the surface, but after a little digging, she found it: the window into his mind. It was just as she had seen it when…the last time Robin had needed her help.

"It's him," she affirmed, opening her eyes to look over at the others. "Help me check him out, would you, Cyborg?"

Cyborg ran diagnostic sensors to check Robin's internals while Raven passed her hands, glowing with their healing light-blue pulse, over the various scrapes and cuts she saw out in the open. When they finished, Robin was still unconscious, but they concluded that he wasn't in any mortal peril.

"What now?" asked Beast Boy after they had watched the slow rise and fall of Robin's chest for a full minute.

Raven pushed back her cowl. "Now we wait."

"We should leave him to rest," Cyborg added. "I have his vitals hooked up to my sensors, so we'll know the instant there's any change. Raven and I can check him more thoroughly when he's awake. Come on."

Three of the Titans moved towards the door.

Raven turned back around. "Starfire?"

"I do not wish to leave him just yet," Starfire answered, standing her ground.

No one had it in them to argue with her.

-T-

An hour passed. Then two more.

"I still don't understand where he could have been this whole time," Cyborg fumed as he walked back and forth in the kitchen.

Beast Boy was on his stomach as a koala on the back of the common room couch, while Raven was afloat just beside him. They both watched as Cyborg practically wore a hole in the floor with his incessant pacing. All of them were still reeling from Robin's sudden appearance after almost giving up hope of ever finding him. Slowly, though, confusion was beginning to edge out shock.

Raven touched down and then strode over to the stove to fix some tea. "Well if you figure it out spontaneously, Cyborg, do tell us."

Cyborg came to a halt. "Well, don't _you_ want to know?"

"Of course I want to know," she said giving him a contemptuous look before removing the kettle from the burner. "But driving myself insane with questions I can't answer alone is a pointless waste of time and energy. Once Robin comes to, we'll get all the answers we need."

Cyborg muttered under his breath. He knew that Raven was right, but that didn't mean he wanted to stop ranting about how damn frustrating this whole situation was.

Beast Boy shifted back into a human. "Is it normal that he's unconscious for so long?"

Raven took a sip of her drink. "It depends on what happened to him." Seeing Cyborg open his mouth, she hastily added, "Another thing we will have to ask Robin when he wakes up."

Cyborg took a seat at the kitchen counter and dropped his head down onto it with a loud _thunk_. "Well, this sucks."

"Yes," Raven rolled her eyes, " _this_ is the worst part of the last two weeks: waiting for Robin to answer our questions. Having him disappear without knowing if he was okay or not was _nothing_ compared to now."

Cyborg stuck out his tongue and Beast Boy let out his first real laugh in a while as Raven hid her own smile behind her teacup.

-T-

Starfire stirred in the chair she has dragged by Robin's bedside. She must have fallen asleep because the last thing she remembered was taking Robin's hand into her own and resting her head on the mattress. Her exhaustion from over the last two weeks had finally caught up with her, and with him near her and safe at last, she finally felt tranquil enough to drift off. She lifted her head now and rubbed her eyes.

Robin still hadn't woken up, but the heart monitor continued to beep steadily.

Starfire settled back down onto his chest, her auburn hair splaying over his body like flames as she listened to his heartbeat. She never wanted to let him out of her sight again, but that was impossible. They were Titans.

It wasn't as if something like this had never happened before, but this was the longest he had ever been away from them. Starfire didn't know what she would have done if anything should have happened to him. She didn't dwell on it too long because she already felt her breath catching in her throat.

The med bay doors hissed open for Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven and Starfire jolted upright. Raven looked at her closely as though peering into her soul, which was entirely possible.

"How is he?" Beast Boy asked.

"There has been no change."

"Why don't you step out and clear your head for a while?" Cyborg suggested. "I'll watch him—"

Starfire held up a hand to silence him, but Cyborg had cut himself off as her head swiveled away. The heart monitor had sped up ever so slightly and the sound of rustling sheets sent the four Titans rocketing to Robin's bedside.

Robin's eyes cracked open.

"Oh, thank _X'hal_!" Starfire cried, throwing herself on top of him and peppering his face with kisses. Robin groaned as she winded him.

Cyborg and Beast Boy immediately tugged her back. "Easy, Starfire. He just woke up. Do you really want to knock him back out?" Beast Boy joked.

"How do you feel, Robin?" Raven questioned, stepping forward.

"Like hell," Robin winced as he tried to sit up. He managed to drag himself into a sitting position very gradually. "What happened?"

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "We were hoping you would be able to tell us."

"You've been gone for two weeks. We've been looking all over for you. Did Slade capture you again? Because I swear, after what he did to Terra and you, I'll rip his—" Beast Boy's voice died as Robin leaned his head into the palm of his hand.

Just as suddenly, Robin's head whipped back up. "Wait a minute, did you say _two weeks_?"

"Yes, Robin," Starfire said quietly, staring at him intently. "We have been most worried over your sudden disappearance. I began to fear we would never find you."

"This is the part where you tell us where you were," Cyborg stage-whispered.

"Guys," Robin's voice was shaking slightly, "I—I don't know. I don't remember."

The others exchanged alarmed looks.

"Zombies ate his brain and caused memory loss!" Beast Boy screeched as he grabbed fistfuls of his own hair. Raven smacked the back of his head.

Robin continued. "All I can remember is going out for patrol. Then everything went black. That's all."

Med bay was filled with a silence the four had become so accustomed to over the last two weeks, but for Robin, it was as if the past two weeks never happened.


	4. Slim Jim

Dawn in Jump City.

Atop the tower in the bay stood Robin, wearily leaning into the ledge. As tired as he was, he couldn't sleep. His mind refused to shut off. It was reeling with too many questions, questions which he desperately wanted answers to.

Two entire weeks had been stolen from him, never to be returned. He had been abducted, of that much he was certain because there was no way he had left of his own free will, but who had done it? It was the biggest question of all, leaving all the others in the dust, and it was what drove him to seek refuge on the Titans Tower roof.

Robin had slipped out from between his sheets around twilight knowing that any hope of sleep was useless. The walls of his room seemed to be closing in on him and he knew he couldn't stay inside a moment longer without breaking something. He crept through the hall past his friends' bedrooms stealthily, not wanting to disturb them; they had spent enough sleepless nights because of him already.

He stared off into the shimmering water as the sky above him was stained with hues of pink and crimson brought on by the rising sun.

As the sun rose higher, Robin knew the others would be awake by now, but he made no move to go back inside. Ever since his return a few days ago, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg had been watching his every move. He hadn't been left alone anywhere besides his bedroom for more than a few minutes and he wondered what they would do when they had to go on missions around the city.

Shouting rang through the tower.

"He's gone!" Beast Boy yelled in a panicky voice.

Raven's smooth tone cut through his. "Calm down before—"

"No!" cried Starfire. "This is not possible!"

"There is no way anyone got past my security systems!" Cyborg bellowed.

All of it happened in a matter of seconds, and the moment Robin figured out the cause,, he practically flew over to the roof door. He jumped over the short flight of stairs, sprinted over to the common room entrance, and slammed on the button to open it as the voices became increasingly loud and confused.

As the door slid open, the others quickly swiveled to face it.

"Robin!" Starfire said as she flew to embrace him, but she paused in midflight at Robin's expression.

Robin looked utterly livid as he stared at the rest of his team, but he struggled to keep his voice even. "Am I not allowed to leave my room for two minutes without everyone sounding the alarm?"

"We just…" Beast Boy faltered as Robin focused his icy look on him.

"Can you blame us?" Raven asked. "Do you honestly think we're overreacting when we find you gone from your bed with no sign of you in the tower right after you went missing for two weeks?"

He flinched and looked down at the carpet.

"Robin, we're just…worried," added Cyborg.

Robin's head snapped back up. "You don't need to be. I'm back and I'm not going anywhere. You've all been on edge for too long. I don't know the last time any of you went out and did something fun for yourselves." He smiled faintly. "Get out of here for a while. I can take care of myself."

He turned to leave before they could say anything else.

-T-

"I suppose he has a point," Raven sighed. "He's fine for now."

Starfire nodded absentmindedly.

"I'm all for relaxing," Beast Boy decided. "Who's with me?"

"I must see to Silkie," Starfire said as she floated out of the room. Raven just gave him a look before following.

"Cyborg?"

Cyborg grinned. "Well alright—boys' day out!"

The two headed to the park in the T-Car in search of something to do and found it fairly quickly.

" _City-wide Eating Contest,_ " Beast Boy read from the neon-yellow flier posted on the lamp pole. " _Contestants with stomachs of steel are invited to dine like swine._ " He wrinkled his nose. "I take offense to that!" Morphing into a little green piglet and back he added, "Unless they have vegetarian meals, I'm out." He turned to face a hollow banging sound that came from beside him.

Cyborg was knocking on his stomach with a wicked smirk on his face. "'Stomachs of steel,' huh?" he said. "I'm going to enjoy this."

The contest didn't begin for another hour, so they wandered around the area to kill some time. In the center of the park, a crowd was gathering.

"I wonder what's going on over there," Cyborg mused.

"Only one way to find out."

Beast Boy shifted into a hummingbird and flew over the crowd while Cyborg nudged his way through.

"That's him!" one of the bystanders near Cyborg whispered, pointing at an incredibly tiny man resembling a twig in the center of all the attention.

"You're kidding," answered some girl to his right. "That's Slim Jim, the most incredible eating sensation the world has ever known?"

"I'm telling you, he's the one."

I could snap him in two with my bare hands!"

Cyborg eyed the guy warily. He actually did look frail enough to break in half. This was the competition?

Just then, a few crates were brought before Slim Jim, and two men pulled out huge slabs of steak to place on the picnic table he had seated himself at.

 _He's filling up now?_ Cyborg thought. _So much for compete—_

The thought sputtered midstream. At a pace that was comparable to a garbage disposal, Slim Jim was forking down steak after steak seemingly without pausing to breathe between bites.

It was amazing.

It was disgusting.

It was really bad news for Cyborg.

A green hummingbird landed next to Cyborg, turning back into Beast Boy. "That guy's a machine."

Cyborg ignored him and continued to watch as Slim Jim polished off the last bite and calmly dabbed at his mouth with a napkin as the crowd cheered and then dispersed.

It was almost time for the contest to start.

"I am not losing to a shrimp like that!" Cyborg bristled as he and Beast Boy headed over to the staging area where the other dozen or so competitors were already seated and bibbed.

"Just don't overdo it, dude," Beast Boy advised. "That guy is good."

At that moment, the sea of people parted as Slim Jim walked up towards the stage bench eating fries by the handful.

_Cocky little—_

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer broke into Cyborg's train of thought. "Welcome to the thirty-first annual Jump City Eating Contest! Before we begin, I'd like to wish our contestants good luck in their feeding frenzy. Are you ready?"

The opponents lifted their forks and knives into a raised position. Slim Jim crammed the last fry into his mouth and nimbly tied a napkin around his neck. Cyborg's stomach rumbled.

"Eat your hearts out!"

Dish after dish was brought out to the tables. There were salads, soups, breads, fish, pastas, lentils, chicken, quiches, pies, hamburgers, lasagnas, hot dogs, cookies, vegetables, kabobs, fried rice, puddings, lamb chops. Two contestants gave up by the time the filet mignon was brought out. Another collapsed right on the stage while biting into a slice of watermelon. It continued like that for the next hour, the contenders dropping off like flies until there was only Cyborg and Slim Jim left. Both were clearly in their element. Cyborg did feel a little queasy, but it was manageable and he struggled to fix his face to be expressionless like Slim Jim's.

The last course was being carried out. It was a seventeen layer cake with chocolate frosting, reminiscent of Cyborg's own baking attempt for Raven's birthday party last year. The cake was placed between them as they sat on opposite sides of the same picnic table.

They crammed forkful after forkful into their mouths. Cyborg wondered where Slim Jim could possibly put it all as he struggled to lift his fork to his lips again. Suddenly there was a squelching noise on the other side of the cake followed by the clatter of something steel on the ground. The crowd gasped.

"My goodness," the announcer had taken up the microphone once more. "It seems that favored winner Slim Jim has conked out into his side of the cake. What an unforeseen turn of events!"

Stunned, Cyborg peered around the frosting covered cake to look at Slim Jim. He was crumpled over the table, face buried in the cake and fork on the ground in defeat.

"How exciting!" the announcer barreled on. "Folks, technically, all Cyborg has to do for the win is take one more bite of that cake."

Cyborg stared at the fork in his hand as the audience buzzed with anticipation. He scooped up a generous portion and raised it to his mouth, which was curved into a smile.

"Booyah!"

-T-

Cyborg and Beast Boy returned victoriously to the Tower from the contest around dusk. Cyborg had been parading around the common room, trophy in hand, regaling every bite, chew, and swallow of the contest to Raven and Starfire.

"Yes, be proud that today you ate enough to feed a small third-world country all for the sake of winning a plastic trophy and a week-long stomachache," Raven told him when he finished.

"Uh, yeah, I am."

Raven glided out of the room muttering something that sounded like 'boys' under her breath.

"Many congratulations to you, friend," Starfire offered.

"That was really awesome back there—" Beast Boy stopped as he looked around to see Cyborg, who was slumped on a kitchen stool, his skin a shade of green rivaling Beast Boy's.

"I don't feel all that great," Cyborg groaned running from the room with one hand covering his mouth while the other clutched his stomach.

"He's going to have a _long_ night."


	5. Titans...Go?

The Titan alarm pierced the air with a deafening tone. Cyborg rushed over to the mainframe's console and rapped away at the keyboard to pinpoint the coordinates of where they were needed. Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven gathered behind him, waiting for a location.

When the door connecting the hallway and the common room hissed apart, the others barely glanced at it. They kept their eyes, but not their attention, focused on the screen. Robin stole behind his teammates to see what the trouble was, almost as if he was magnetically drawn to.

"Got it!" Cyborg grunted after a minute more. Robin swiftly started to back away as he explained the situation. "There's an armed robbery in progress at the Jump City Bank. One of the employees set off a silent alarm."

"Let's go," said Beast Boy quickly, morphing into a cheetah and sprinting off to the garage for the T-Car.

Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire were not far behind him, but Robin was nowhere to be seen. No one mentioned it as they piled into the T-Car and sped off, but the stony silence between them during the short ride said it all.

-T-

The week before, the Titans' first call for help since Robin's return came.

As usual, the flashing red lights and blaring sirens brought everyone running to the main computer where Robin already sat.

"Dr. Light is cleaning out an antique shop in the city," Robin relayed. "There are reports of him using giant beams light."

"Of course," Raven said in her usual monotone.

"Titans…."

The rest never came, but four Titans had already sprung from their positions into action as soon as the first syllable left Robin's lips. They were well on their way to the T-Car before they noticed something was not right.

"Robin?" Starfire said tentatively, floating back towards the main room with the rest of the team following behind her.

They found him still sitting on the chair, staring vacantly at his hands resting in his lap. Raven and Beast Boy looked at one another with bewildered expressions.

Cyborg clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Robin?"

Robin only then noticed they were in the room. He forced himself to his feet and made his voice steady. "Go," he said, attempting to finish that abandoned call as if nothing had happened in the meantime.

" _Go_ ," he said more firmly when the others didn't move. "I'll catch up."

Beast Boy burst out, "What—?"

"I said go," Robin interrupted as he breezed over to the door that led into the hall, his back to his friends and his cape whipping out behind him. Before another word could be exchanged, the doors slid shut.

"We should go," said Raven. "We'll deal with him later."

The others wordlessly agreed, and they rushed off into the heart of the city where they found the antique shop and the surrounding buildings crumbling from the havoc Dr. Light was causing.

"My side is so much more en _light_ ening, wouldn't you say?" Dr. Light sneered as he shot a beam of pure light energy into a shop window. It exploded on impact.

Cyborg groaned, but Beast Boy crept up behind Raven, waggled his fingers in the air, and said, "Come to the dark side. We have cookies!"

Raven lowered her head into one of her hands.

Beast Boy was still laughing as Dr. Light whirled around to face the Titans, eyes scanning the group over. "Are we missing one caped team member?"

"No. Sorry to disappoint you."

Five necks craned upwards to identify the voice. Robin stood crouched on the roof of the antique shop, looking down on them all.

Dr. Light quickly recovered. "Ah, well. No matter." He blasted his light ray towards Robin.

The others watched helplessly as the beam hurtled towards Robin. He seemed to be frozen, hesitating, doubt etched into every visible contour of his face. It was like he was a thousand miles away, not even aware of the danger he was in.

"Move!" Cyborg shouted.

Robin finally seemed to come to. At the last possible second, he dodged the beam by bending backwards spectacularly, so narrowly missing serious harm that his shirt was badly singed from the encounter.

Dr. Light aimed again with the intention of finishing the job, but before he could raise his finger to press the trigger, a green ram barreled into him and knocked him to the ground. Before the villain had time to gather his wits, Cyborg hooked a punch into his jaw and then released him so the girls could finish the job. Starfire had no trouble summoning her starbolts; she was feeling enough righteous fury at Dr. Light's attempt on Robin's life that she was practically consumed by the green energy. Raven ended the battle by smashing the solar-powered weapon to pieces and binding the unconscious Dr. Light in some lamp poles with a wave of her magic-encased hand.

Starfire stood over Dr. Light's limp form, her eyes still glowing a fierce green. Raven looked up at the rooftop where Robin had been. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. He wasn't there.

"Did anyone see where Robin went?"

The others jerked their heads straight up simultaneously to look at the empty roof for themselves.

Starfire could feel her anger ebbing away to be replaced by dread. "He did not participate in battle."

"You think he was hurt after all?" Cyborg asked worriedly.

"I don't know, but first we have to get this idiot to jail again," Raven responded, nodding to Dr. Light. "On second thought, I'll take him myself. You guys go on and find out if Robin needs healing. I'll be there soon."

She sank into a black puddle of her magic with Dr. Light in tow while the others sped away back to Titan's Tower in Cyborg's car.

Once at home, Starfire flew from the ground floor to the common room. No Robin there. She checked the infirmary. Still no Robin. Starfire headed back down the hall to his bedroom door and softly knocked.

"Robin?" she quietly called, pressing her ear to the door. She heard a muffled thump followed by a sharp intake of breath.

"Starfire?" Robin cracked the door open a fraction, his head and bare shoulder poking out.

Starfire's face heated a little. "I wished to make sure you are undamaged. You left quickly without joining battle. We wondered if Dr. Light caused you injury."

"I'm fine," Robin answered quickly. "Thanks for asking." He moved to slide his door back shut, but Starfire held it fast. The strain of pulling on the handle against so much resistance caused a pained look to cross Robin's face, something which Starfire didn't fail to notice.

"Then you will not mind me seeing for myself."

Robin blanched. "Is that really necessary?"

"What have you to hide?" she persisted.

They stared at one another, Robin with disquiet and Starfire with steely resolve.

Very slowly, he let go of the door so she could let herself in. It was dark in his room; the blinds were closed and none of the lights were on. Starfire fumbled to find the switch along the wall and finally found what she was looking for. She flicked the light on and gasped aloud.

Robin's chest bore an angry red welt that stretched from his navel to the middle of his chest; however, Starfire had been expecting something like that. It was all the other wounds and semi-fresh scars marring his upper body that shocked and frightened her. He was covered in painful looking half-healed scratches, dark-bluish bruises which were splotched over patches of delicate skin, and burn marks that seemed to be from not too long ago.

Dr. Light's gun had not caused all of that.

Starfire struggled to regain her composure. She stepped closer to him, stretching out one hand to lightly finger a particularly nasty cut on his stomach. Robin hissed in a breath through his clenched teeth and she pulled her hand away.

"Robin…what in _X'hal's_ name has happened to you?"

"Listen, Star, it doesn't—"

"No," Starfire stopped him in a trembling voice and stared straight into his mask. "No more lies, or half-truths. Tell me."

Robin gazed at her with an exhausted look on his face and a bitter smile on his lips. "Believe me, I'd like to know the truth myself. This one," he went on gesturing to the sore on his chest, "is from Dr. Light. As for rest, I have no idea how I got them or who gave them to me. After I woke up in med bay the day you guys found me, I saw that I was marked with all of these."

"But why did you not inform Raven so that she could heal you?"

"Starfire," he started softly, almost as if he was pleading, "without these injuries I have no leads on what happened to me during that time, no clues on where I was taken. By enduring a little pain, I can keep a hold on the only evidence I have, maybe identify what weapons were used against me. It's all I've got to go on."

She studied his face for a moment before asking, "Why did you not come with us right away to fight as always?" Her voice started to rise and tears burned her eyes. "Why did it take you so long to get out of harm's way when Dr. Light fired towards you? Why did you not assist us in battle against him?"

Robin's face was expressionless as he took a step back from her and turned away. "I'm tired. Could you go now so I can rest for a while?"

Starfire looked at his scarred back as the tears she had been fighting overpowered her. She turned on her heel and moved out of his room without another word.

-T-

Ever since then, Robin had started coming up with excuses not to join the other Titans on their missions around the city.

All of them tried to talk to Robin, to convince him to continue his duties as a member of the team, but they couldn't get through to him. He would beg off conversation or simply walk away if they continued discussing it.

Raven had gotten the farthest. She offered to help him focus on the blank period through meditation, and Robin took her up on it for the chance to figure out something, _anything_ , he could about his disappearance.

"Just relax," Raven instructed. "Close your eyes and clear your mind of everything, everything except the night you went on patrol. Concentrate on what you were doing, where you were. Focus. The memories have to be there somewhere in your mind, you've just repressed them." _Or someone else repressed them for you_.

For an hour Robin sat there with his eyes shut, breathing in and out, clearing his mind until he could think of nothing but that void of two weeks that evaded his memory.

It was then the pain struck him. Hard and fast, intense agony coursed through Robin's veins like fire. It was so all-consuming that in that moment he no longer knew where he was or even his own name. It was pain that affected him on both physical and emotional levels, but try as he might, he still couldn't pinpoint it to anything in particular. His suffering escalated and he slipped into a haze of utter torture.

"Robin!"

His eyes snapped open and he found himself lying on the floor surrounded by his friends, fear written on their faces. He bolted upright, feeling the pain diminish slowly.

Raven opened her mouth, but before she could utter a word Robin dashed from the room and locked himself in his bedroom. He didn't meditate with Raven anymore.

Now he didn't bother with pointless excuses, he no longer even checked what the situation was, he just left Jump City's protection to his friends. So, it was only four tired and frustrated Titans returned home after stopping the bank robbery rather quickly.

-T-

Robin sat in the cool respite his room offered.

His life seemed to be headed on a downward spiral and he knew he needed his friends' help. He also knew he was hurting them, and more than anything, he wanted to stop. He just didn't know how.

Or did he?

Robin had been considering his choices ever since the battle with Dr. Light. He was obviously of no use to the team any more. So why should he stick around here and let himself be a bother to the city's heroes when they had work to do?

The answer seemed pretty damn clear to him. He pulled out a threadbare suitcase that had seen better days and began packing. As he did, he started wondering what he was going to do. Returning to Gotham was not an option.

Robin had nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. He sat down next to the suitcase, thinking. He was taking the easy—and stupid—way out by trying to run off and he knew it.

 _Maybe it's best if I stay here_. _After all, they'd only come looking for me if I did leave. I don't really_ want _to go._

So Robin made one of the best decisions he had made in a while: he listened to those scarce, reasonable instincts that were floating around in his head just waiting to be heard over impulse and stayed.


	6. Lights Out

Raven and Starfire were deep in meditation. Or, at least Raven was.

The girls were situated quietly next to one another, facing the windowed wall in Starfire's room. Raven, eyes closed, serenely levitated several feet off the carpet. Starfire was bobbing in the air alongside her with her eyes tightly shut, but she was fighting to still her thoughts.

It had been a week since the fight with Dr. Light and Robin was finally starting to show a bit of improvement. He didn't shirk his responsibilities anymore; in fact, he seemed to be fighting himself tooth and nail to regain self-control. When the alarm had sounded again three days ago, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven reached the main computer to find him already rapping away at the keyboard. He had told them the source of the disturbance and made his way to the T-Car without another word.

Thrilled as they were to have Robin back with them in battle, they couldn't help but notice that his usual confidence was still shaken. He wouldn't call them forward with his expected 'Titans, GO!' anymore either. But he had brought himself back to them, and that was something.

Robin deftly slipped back into his place as leader without so much as mentioning his earlier abandonment. The rest of the Titans didn't dare bring it up either, so the incident went unexplained…for the moment.

"Starfire, could you cut that out?" Raven said irritably.

Starfire opened eyes in bewilderment; she hadn't spoken a word.

Raven sighed and reminded her friend as she touched down. "Empath."

Starfire brought her feet down to stand as well. "My apologies," she blushed lightly. "I was unaware my reflections were disturbing you."

"Want to talk about it?" Raven offered as she headed over to Starfire's circular bed and sat gingerly on the edge of it. Starfire followed her. "Or, rather, him?"

Starfire's blush deepened, but the words spilled out from her mouth like a spring. "Robin's behavior troubles me. At times I fear he will never be the same. I know it is good that he has resumed his place in combat, but…."

She bit her lip, unsure how to explain. Deep in the pit of her stomach, Starfire knew something was seriously wrong with Robin, that he was somehow… incomplete. She had also sworn not to tell anyone about the horrid wounds that mangled his body, but all this secrecy was eating away at her.

Raven reached out to grab one of Starfire's hands, a movement that was so startling in itself since Raven hated being touched—let alone actually initiating physical contact—that Starfire stopped her fretful wriggling.

"Everything is going to be okay. You'll see."

Starfire hoped to _X'hal_ that she was right.

-T-

Cyborg was in the garage working on his baby, meticulously tuning, upgrading, and polishing every inch of the T-Car with the tools he specially crafted for the job.

Beast Boy watched from his place sprawled don the stairs, making sure to keep a good seven feet away from the T-Car like Cyborg instructed.

"Can't I just sit in the driver's seat?" he whined. "Not to drive it, just to _sit_ in it."

Cyborg, his face flecked with grease, rolled out from the car's undercarriage to give Beast Boy a hard stare. "I only know how to say 'no' in three different languages and it's all pronounced the same way, give or take an accent. So when I say 'no,' you can take it in one of two ways: a 'triple-no,' or—my personal favorite—'a hell no.' Take your pick." With that he slid back under the car.

"Nein," Beast Boy muttered.

"What?" Cyborg said with narrowed eyes, rolling back out into the open.

"It's 'no' in German. Now you know it in four languages, and one is very different from the others."

Cyborg just looked at him. "Grass stain, you never cease to amaze me."

"Thanks," Beast Boy smiled widely, fang protruding from his bottom lip. The stairs gave a creak from behind and he glanced over his shoulder. Robin stood a stair or two above him, leaning on the railing.

"Hey," Beast Boy said, his smile snagging slightly. Ever since Robin's breakdown, he'd been unsure how to act around him.

"Hi." Robin sank down to sit beside him.

Cyborg finished tightening a bolt and came out from the underside of the T-Car wiping his hands on a tattered rag. "Hey, man. What's going on?"

Robin paused before answering, something he'd taken to doing anytime he was asked a question these days, like he had to analyze what he was about to say. Beast Boy and Cyborg exchanged a quick look.

"I was just looking for Starfire."

"Why? Got a hot date?" Cyborg teased. Beast Boy snickered behind his hand.

"Hoping to," Robin mumbled.

The other two started.

"Are you really that surprised?"

"Uh, yeah," Beast Boy said, "but way to take some initiative, Robin."

Robin tried to figure out if that was a compliment or not before rising to his feet. "See you guys later."

As he walked back up the stairs and disappeared through the doorway, Beast Boy turned to face Cyborg with a wicked smile on his lips. "Let's go have some fun of our own." He began to laugh a wild, maniacal cackle like that of a Disney movie villain.

Except his wasn't so impressive after it turned into a hacking cough.

Cyborg rolled his eyes in a very Raven-esque manner as Beast Boy gasped for air. "Come on."

-T-

Starfire heard a knock as she sat at her vanity brushing her hair.

"Enter," she called out, expecting Raven to be returning from the kitchen.

She was surprised to see Robin reflected behind her in the mirror instead, and turned to face him. The two hadn't been alone since the night Robin had asked Starfire to leave his room. They had been rather distant since then, but they both were aching to return to how it was before, sneaking kisses, confiding everything, spending almost all their time together.

Robin didn't venture far from the door. "Hi, Starfire."

Starfire gave him a small, warm smile. "Hello."

He fidgeted a bit, but didn't look away from her. _She looks gorgeous,_ he thought to himself sadly. _I miss her._ Starfire continued to look at him expectantly when he finally realized he was just standing there like an idiot.

"I…I was wondering if you'd like to do something tonight. With me. Just the two of us. Like maybe dinner and a movie?"

He wondered why it was so difficult to spit it out. It's not like he hadn't gone out with her before. And then it dawned on him. This was the first time he had asked her out officially since returning from Tokyo. In all the chaos that had followed after his disappearance, their relationship had been put on hold. The guilt he felt for being terse with her the other night intensified.

Meanwhile, Starfire was speechless. This was unexpected. She had just been fretting over his behavior, but now, as he stood before her waiting for an answer, he seemed almost…normal. Her face split into a smile. "Of course. I shall commence the getting ready of myself."

Robin laughed. "You have time. Does seven sound good to you?"

"Glorious," Starfire beamed. She seemed to be thinking something over.

After another moment, she flew to close the small gap between them and pressed her lips against Robin's very gently. He responded quickly, pulling her against him and feeling her shiver as he ran his hands up her back. Never breaking their kiss, she placed her arms around his neck and began to play with the hair at the nape of it.

A scuffling noise just outside the door caused them to tear apart. It had lasted only a second, but the damage was done. Robin looked to the closed door and then back to Starfire.

"So, I'll see you at seven?" he said, itching to take her in his arms again.

"I shall be ready," Starfire told him. As he headed to the door to exit, she added, "And perhaps we can continue with the making out then."

A lopsided grin graced Robin's face.

-T-

Robin went into the common room to find Raven reading on the couch. Just as he sat down, a small noise caught his attention. Raven continued to pore over her book with an air of not having heard anything. Robin glanced around, but saw nothing. Then he looked up and froze.

Cyborg and Beast Boy were dangling upside-down from the ceiling, bound, gagged, and strung up by what was obviously Raven's magic. Both boys were wide-eyed and red-faced, frantically pleading for Robin's help while the blood rushed to their heads. Of course, their words were unintelligible due to the strip of black that adorned both their mouths.

Robin turned to face Raven, trying to figure out if he should be scared or laughing. "Uh, Raven?"

"Yes?" she replied, still not looking away from her book. Her lips curved into a small smile, the only indication that she knew exactly what Robin was going to ask her.

"Why…how…," he tried to get out. He started over. "What did they do?"

"What they were going to do," Raven said as she leafed to the next page, "was interrupt you and Starfire, but I caught them before they could hack open the door. And that," she flicked her eyes up to look at them, "is how this happened."

So _that_ was the noise in the hallway. "Oh. Thanks."

Robin left for his room, leaving Beast Boy and Cyborg wriggling vainly in midair while Raven continued to read.

-T-

Robin headed outside the tower to wait for Starfire. He sat down on an oversized boulder jutting over the bay from their island and gazed up at the stars that kept him company. It wasn't long before the main doors hissed open again.

As she came to his side, Robin stood and seized her hand in his gloved one. "Could you give me a lift?"

Starfire smiled and took hold of his other arm before rising from the ground in a rush of happy thoughts.

They flew over the water and lofty rooftops until they reached the city. Starfire slowed and eased Robin down onto the sidewalk in front of one of Jump City's older movie theaters. It wasn't very crowded and they had no trouble finding seats. The previews began and Robin casually put his hand on top of Starfire's, which lay on the armrest between them. Starfire smiled to herself and twitched her hand to reciprocate the gesture. The movie started with a tinkling piano playing and snowflakes drifting all around the screen.

The lilting music started to pick up momentum and just as the title started to swim into view—

Darkness.

At first, Robin assumed this was all part of the movie, but as a solid minute ticked by, that notion slipped further away and he started to become uneasy. Ever since he had been drugged with that reagent from Slade's mask, he wasn't a fan of the dark.

A pool of light leaked in from the back doors as an usher appeared with a dim flashlight in hand. "Movie patrons," she announced in a clear voice, "Jump City is experiencing a complete blackout. If you would please follow me, I will lead you to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion. We apologize for the inconvenience; your money will be refunded. This way, please."

The shuffling of the slim number of movie-goers could be heard, but not seen, by Robin and Starfire as they carefully picked their own way past the upholstered seats. One they emerged into the night air, they could see the usher hadn't exaggerated when she said all of the city was affected. Robin and Starfire could see nothing but the stars and the silvery moon.

"Now what?" he mused to Starfire.

Taking another blind step forward, Robin felt panic well in his chest without warning. Indistinguishable images flitted across his eyes, blurring his vision. His breathing hitched and standing up became almost impossible. Then, he heard something as though it was coming from a very great distance.

"Robin? Robin?" Starfire insisted more urgently when he did not answer. She knew he was there; she was still gripping his slack hand.

Robin could feel his body sliding down the wall, could feel his mind racing to figure out what was happening. Just as suddenly as it came over him, the weakness and visions were gone. He raised himself up on shaky knees and even though he couldn't see her, he knew Starfire's worried eyes were vainly seeking him out.

"It's okay. I tripped over something," he lied easily. Squinting into the dark, he realized something. "I can't even see the tower. What happened to our back-up generator? Starfire, we need to check this out. I don't think this is just a power failure."

Starfire nodded grimly though he couldn't see her.

-T-

In Titans Tower, Raven cursed as she bumped into a wall for the third time as she tried to make her way down the hall. "I like the dark, but this is ridiculous."

She stumbled again not a moment later, but this time it was into something softer than plywood and plaster. It was warm under her hands where she had sprawled them to brace for the impact. Raven's eyes were finally adjusting to the dark as she peered closer to see what she had run into, only to back up quickly with a pinkish hue staining her cheeks.

Beast Boy was standing in front of her with a look of such fright on his face, she might have laughed if she wasn't so embarrassed.

"What are you doing just standing there saying nothing, Beast Boy? I almost had a stroke."

"I was looking for a flashlight, and you came barreling into me!"

"It's dark," Raven snapped.

A loud bang from the direction of Cyborg's room saved Beast Boy from having to reply.

"What's wrong with the back-up gener— _shit_!" hollered Cyborg's carrying voice through the tower chased by another huge crash.

Beast Boy laughed. "Let's go find him before he loses a limb or something." He paused. "Uh, where are you?"

"I don't know. I can't see. That's the problem."

"Well, I'm here."

"How helpful," Raven bit back.

Beast Boy groped around. "Just—there. I've got you!"

She was sure her face was on fire. "That is _not_ my hand."

He let go like he had been burned and after a choking silence, timidly tried again. "Is this your hand?"

"Yes."

"Right. Let's find Cyborg."

-T-

"I see nothing out of the ordinary," Starfire commented as the wind whipped around her.

Robin grunted. "There must be something. Let's stop here for a second."

They came to rest on a dark billboard platform raised above Jump City. At least the moon was a small source of brightness. Robin leaned against the wobbly railing to look over the dark expanse of buildings. Starfire touched his shoulder and he turned to face her.

"You seem most worried," she said. "Is it not possible that this is merely a short circuit of the electricity?"

"I suppose," Robin said, unconvinced. Why was he so suspicious though? He had no proof that this was anything else.

Starfire was gazing at him. He couldn't help but admire the way the moonlight glinted off of her fiery hair, almost like a halo. He was suddenly drawn to her lips, and without thinking about it, he stepped towards her.

The world exploded with light. Robin was practically blinded as the billboard lit up along with the entire city. It was a while before his eyes could properly focus again, and when they did, he saw Starfire blinking furiously to clear her own sight.

"I guess you were right. Just a normal blackout."

Starfire nodded, disappointed that the lights had come back at such an inopportune time. "Let us return home." So much for their date.

-T-

Robin stood in a white spotlight, unable to see anything beyond the puddle of light. He noticed he wasn't wearing his cape, boots, or gloves. What he did see on his hands was something else entirely.

Blood.

His hands, the whole floor was slick with it. He fell to his knees and tears sprung to his eyes while his breath stuttered in short, painful pants. Grief overwhelmed him; he wanted to…to die. He had lost everything. It didn't matter if he lived anymore.

A silver dagger appeared even as the thought occurred to him. He grasped the handle and brought the blade up to his heart, and putting the point to his skin, he squeezed his eyes shut as he firmly put pressure onto the knife, digging it deeper and deeper….

Robin jolted awake, bolting upright in his bed and scrabbled at his chest. He was drenched in a cold sweat and his sheets were twisted around his legs like he'd been writhing. Robin tried to focus on what the dream had been about while trying to calm his ragged breathing, but it was slipping away from his conscious mind.

It was probably for the best. Had he remembered, he surely would not have been able to fall back asleep a few minutes later as he did.


	7. Animal Instincts

A green puppy pawed at a passing butterfly in Jump City Park. He wagged his tail and barked in little yelps as he stumbled across the sunbathed grass.

Suddenly, the terrain and atmosphere changed.

Open fields were replaced with a damp, rocky cavern and every ounce of sunlight was blotted out as if a chasm had swallowed the earth. The puppy whimpered as the ground began to quake before morphing into a wolverine. He ran, darting around the falling rocks and debris that rained down. The tremors became more violent and before the wolverine could stop himself, several large boulders fell right before him. He dodged all except one, but that was all it took.

His leg was pinned; he was trapped. As the quaking subsided, the wolverine made out a shadowy figure through a haze of pain and dust, but a shifting noise from above stole his attention. A lethal-looking stalactite was coming loose from its foundation directly overhead. The wolverine struggled to free itself, but it was no use. Almost in slow-motion, the jagged rock detached from the cavern ceiling and began to plummet towards him. He squeezed his eyes shut against the gut-wrenching feeling that something like this had happened before.

Beast Boy woke up.

He was in wolverine form and panting slightly, as if he actually had just finished narrowly escaping the cave-in. Beast Boy morphed into human form with a little difficulty that he attributed to his uneasiness after his nightmare. He rubbed his forehead with his hand, trying to clear away the bits of the dream he could still vaguely remember when his stomach gave a loud growl. He leapt off the top bunk and headed towards the kitchen for breakfast.

Raven was sitting in the common room reading. "Morning, Raven."

"Beast Boy."

As he poured himself a bowl of cereal and soy milk, Raven observed him quietly over the edge of her book. With a frown, she noticed the dark-green circles under his eyes and how sluggish he seemed to be moving, but before she could ask if he slept, the alarm sounded.

Robin came in sprinting followed closely by Starfire and Cyborg. If Raven thought Beast Boy looked tired, then Robin was dead on his feet. Only stubbornness was keeping him from collapsing from fatigue by the look of it. They had caught him dozing off on the couch or any level surface a few times now, but he brushed aside their comments. Naps weren't technically a sign of anything serious, so they decided to let him be for the time being.

"Robbers at the city bank," Robin read. He turned to face them for the last bit. "They're heavily armed. Be on your guard."

-T-

"Gimme the goddamn money!" a burly man in a ski-mask screamed at the bank teller, spittle flecking from his mouth as he waved his gun. The bank teller paled in fear, but she resolutely shook her head.

"He ain't joking, poppet," roared a lanky accomplice, also armed. "Just put the big bills in the bag and we'll leave."

"How about you just leave?"

Cyborg's sonic cannon ripped through the air, skimming the tops of the robbers' heads in a warning shot.

"What the hell is this? The carnival is down the road, kiddies, so haul out," the burly robber spat.

Starfire tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Why does he inform us of the carnival's location?"

From the corner of her eye, Raven saw the bank teller and a few other civilians within range of the guns backing off to the rear exit. She tried to distract the robbers. "If you come quietly, I promise I won't hurt you very badly."

Beast Boy caught on to what Raven was up to. "I'd take her up on that offer if I were you."

Once the last person disappeared around the corner, Robin gave a dangerous smirk and whipped out his bo staff. Beast Boy changed into a tiger and dashed forward alongside Robin while Cyborg blasted more shots of his cannon and the girls took to the air.

The robbers turned to grab hostages, but finally noticed that they had given them the slip. With strangled cries, they leapt behind the teller's counter and fired their guns haphazardly. The Titans scattered to avoid the hail of bullets. Starfire narrowly missed being hit by a stray bullet.

"Wait for my signal," Robin bellowed to his team as he crouched behind a desk to wait out this round of bullets.

"Well this is a great start to the morning," Cyborg called out. "Let's just hope they run out of ammo soon, or the whole day is shot. Get it, Beast Boy? _Shot_." He turned to find the changeling as he roared with laughter at his own joke.

"Azar," Raven muttered. She peered over her black-energy shield and saw that the shooting had stopped. Taking advantage of this opening, Raven lowered her defenses and flew towards the teller's counter.

"Raven, not yet! I said wai—" Robin yelled.

Raven turned towards Robin's panicked voice just as the lanky robber raised his gun and aimed for the back of her head with cold indifference in his eyes. Beast Boy observed all of this as a fly on the wall.

The gun fired.

"Raven! Raven, _no_!"

Beast Boy was screaming at the top of his lungs as he landed on the floor in his human form. Raven was hit. She had been shot and Beast Boy had been too slow to react. He had seen it happening. Why didn't he move faster? Blood was pounding in his ears, his vision lost focus, and for a second he seemed to be looking upon another scene…a cave, a glowing yellow color…

Without even remembering when he transformed, Beast Boy found himself holding down the unconscious robber with his massive lion paws. He bared his teeth and growled a deep, guttural sound, licking his lips at the scent of fresh prey.

"Beast Boy!"

He was startled from his thoughts as Robin had called out to him. He and Starfire had managed to knock out the other gunman. Cyborg was kneeling next to Raven's body.

 _Raven_.

Beast Boy turned human, but it took a lot of will for him to do so, which was strange. He paid no mind to it, however, because he had to get over to Raven. He hadn't seen where the bullet hit. He ran to her in a stupor. She had to be okay, she just had to. If she wasn't….

"Raven," he said in a quavering voice as he dropped to his knees beside her. She was in a small pool of blood, her face was incredibly white, and her eyes were closed. "Is she—?"

"It went straight through her arm and she's losing a lot of blood, but she'll be okay," Cyborg quickly answered.

Even as he said it, Beast Boy saw Raven stir and let out a dull moan. A wave of relief washed over him. "Hey," Beast Boy whispered. "I'm the one who does the stupid stuff, remember?" Raven's mouth twitched at the sides like she was trying to smile.

"Now's not the time, BB," Cyborg told him, checking Raven's vitals on his arm. "We need to get her to med bay and stabilize her so that she can heal herself before she loses anymore blood."

The two boys gently lifted Raven between them and put her across the backseat of the T-Car. With a screeching of tires on asphalt, they headed for the tower.

-T-

"What the hell were you thinking?"

It was two days after the incident at the bank and Robin was in med bay letting Raven have it. Starfire and Cyborg were hovering in the doorway. While this was the closest Robin had come to being himself in a long time, it was still scary to see him yelling at Raven of all people.

"You directly disobeyed orders!" he shouted. "I knew they would try and pull some false lull in gunfire like that, that's why I told everyone to hold back until I said otherwise. Do you know how lucky you are that it wasn't worse?"

"You're right, Robin."

"Of course you'd say that, you're so—" He regrouped. "Um, what?"

"I said you're right."

"You're just trying to get me to shut up, aren't you?"

Raven snorted. "No. I made a mistake, but I paid for it." She waved her arm, which bore nothing but a small round scar, the only trace left that she had been shot after self-healing. After a few more days, not even that would be left. She gave a wry smile. "You shutting up is just a bonus."

Robin sighed. "Just listen to me next time, okay?" he said in a resigned voice.

He left and Starfire went after him while Cyborg fully entered the room to look at Raven's vitals.

"Don't bother," she told him. "I'm fine." She paused. "So where's Beast Boy?"

Cyborg looked at her furtively before staring at a point just above her head instead of directly at her. "He's, uh, in his room."

"Are you going to explain what that look meant, or am I just going to have to pry it out of your mind?"

"You wouldn't dare—" Cyborg took one look at her serious expression and rushed to elaborate. "He hasn't been himself lately. On the he last few missions we've had while you were out of commission, he came along, but he's always so…bloodthirsty."

"Beast Boy?" Raven said. "Our Beast Boy, the _vegetarian_ , bloodthirsty?"

Cyborg nodded. "He does his part like its nothing and he leaves on his own as soon as the job is done. And it's not just when we're out on duty. He barely comes out of his animal forms now, even here at home. I can't remember seeing him human for the past two days, that is, when I see him at all. Mostly stays shut up in his room."

Raven's brow furrowed. What could have happened to Beast Boy while she was healing? Or did it happen before that? She scrambled to remember his behavior three days earlier and it dawned on her that she never figured out why he looked so tired. Maybe there was a connection. Raven knew it was a slim chance, but what else did she have to go on?

-T-

Beast Boy was a python, wrapped around the chair of his desk. He loved curling up there lately, feeling the polished wood of the chair's frame weaken and begin to splinter under the grip of his coils. He let out a low hiss.

Recently, feeling in control was the only thing that mattered to him. There had been too many times in his life that he couldn't stop things from happening because he wasn't quick enough, wasn't smart enough, wasn't good enough.

Like when Raven was shot.

He didn't want to feel anymore. He was fed up with the weakness it led to, and being animal was a release from his emotions. It was part of why he had been staying in his animal forms so often. They were an escape, even his subconscious was telling him so. When he would fall asleep human, he'd wake up from his dreams as some other beast.

There was a rapping at the door and Beast Boy tongue flitted into the air, tasting it. He didn't feel like speaking with anyone. He quickly transformed into a termite and wriggled into a small nook in the uneven wood of his desk chair.

"Beast Boy?"

It was Raven. His breathing hitched slightly, though it was barely noticeable as he was little more than a parasite at the moment.

 _Why is she here? Is she better?_ Beast Boy's mind buzzed with questions, the only attribute that kept him human at times like this. After another brief mental struggle, he decided to see what Raven wanted. He willed himself to change back into his human form. Nothing happened.

 _What the—?_ perplexed, he tried to morph again. Nothing. He switched tactics, wanting his body to reform into an alligator. There sat a green alligator at the foot of the desk. Then a peacock. Next, a chipmunk skittered around the rug. His animal forms were working.

 _Human,_ Beast Boy thought the word vehemently as if that could help him. _Human_.

The tiny green chipmunk was still on the rug.

"I came to talk. Are you in there?" called Raven from outside his door.

Beast Boy chattered away as if she could understand him in this form. He saw her shadow underneath the crack of his bedroom door stay for a few more seconds and then glide away.

_What's happening to me?_

-T-

"Any luck yesterday?" Cyborg called over his shoulder from the stove as Raven walked into the common room the next morning.

She sat beside the Starfire on the couch. "Not even close. He didn't open up."

"For you?" Robin eyes widened slightly behind his mask and he put down the newspaper he had been reading.

"Perhaps we should go to our friend together?" Starfire offered in a concerned tone.

"Maybe—" Raven started uncertainly, but she was interrupted by a scratching sound at the hallway door.

No one got up for a second or two, but then Starfire flew over to open it. As it slid back, a green monkey came running into the room. The four of them watched as Beast Boy vaulted all over the furniture and prattled away to them in an obvious plea for their attention.

Cyborg spoke first. "Uh, BB…."

 _He-help! Ooh-ooh, ah-ah! Ple-ase, he-help me-e!_ Beast Boy entreated from inside his mind. All night long he had tried changing back into his human form, but it was as if that side of him was unreachable. Even forming coherent thoughts was becoming increasingly difficult. It was like his animal side was seeking control, a fight that it was winning _._ Even as he panicked, a sense of inner calm was stealing over him….

"Friend!" Starfire cried as she tried to grab hold of the bouncing monkey.

Beast Boy eluded her and changed into a raven. He flew around the room in drunken loops, bumping into the walls, knocking picture frames off their hooks. _Gu-caw-guys! Do something! Caw caw caw!_

A second before his mind shut down, he knew what was going to happen—he was about to lose touch with his human side. It didn't matter that he saw it coming, he was fully at the command of his primitive instincts.

Raven felt the change in his aura almost at once. Folding into her meditative position, she probed Beast Boy's mind and called to him. _Beast Boy?_

… _caw…caw…_

Something wasn't right. There was an empty void where Beast Boy's humanity had once been. It was always there even as he morphed, tucked away but accessible to Raven if she ever needed to communicate with him in his animal body. But it was gone now, replaced with primal thought patterns and raw instinct.

Raven touched back down to tell her friends, and as she did Beast Boy's behavior became increasingly erratic and a green stag replaced the raven.

"What should we do?" Robin said as they all watched Beast Boy unshelve books and breaking other trinkets.

"He's destroying the tower and probably hurting himself. Let's just stop him and deal with his mental status after!" Cyborg edged towards the rampaging deer.

That was a mistake. No sooner did he approach Beast Boy than the deer erupt into something entirely more sinister: the Beast. It looked around at each Titan with wild eyes, mouth frothing slightly while it paced like an animal trapped in a cage that was too small.

Raven stepped tentatively forward, not out of fear, but so as not to frighten their friend further. "Beast Boy?"

He turned to face her, eerily calm in that moment. The other Titans came to a halt, hardly daring to breathe. Raven sought to make eye contact with the Beast, seeking any trace of humanity that remained intact, but the spell was harshly broken as the Beast gave a howl like a wounded dog. It then jumped headlong out tower windows, smashing clean through the glass which flew everywhere as it hurtled down into the darkness below.

-T-

"I'm heading to sector three," Robin said into his communicator. He was speeding along through the Jump City streets on his R-Cycle searching for signs of Beast Boy.

"All clear at the docks," Cyborg's voice crackled through a moment after.

"Nor is there any indication of Beast Boy at the park."

"How about you, Raven?"

Robin had saw how Raven had remained tightlipped, her face illegible as stone, in the few frantic minutes it had taken them to come up with a search plan back at the tower.

"Nothing here." Raven's emotions were running amok which meant her powers weren't at their most stable right now, but she had more important things to worry about than a few melting lamp posts. _Has his DNA finally fallen apart? What if he can't go back to normal? What in Azar's name brought this on? Why today?_

Raven's thoughts swirled in a jumbled mess, and she tried to see something she may have missed among them. _Why now?_

It suddenly hit her with the force of a brick wall. She switched the direction she was flying in sharply, picking up speed.

"I think I know where Beast Boy is. Sending coordinates. Meet me there."

-T-

Raven landed inside a crater-like cave that burrowed deep under the city. Quietly she raced down the all too familiar pathway that held painful memories around every twist and curve. As the path widened to form a small cove, she heard a whining sound growing closer. She stepped out into the dimply lit area and saw a massive, shadowy bulk staying very still with its back turned to her.

The Beast sat staring at a vacant spot in the cove that displayed an empty stone pedestal with a plaque attached to it..

Raven inched closer. "Beast Boy?"

It didn't react to the sound of her voice, as if it had been expecting her to find it here all along.

"Beast Boy, I know you're in there somewhere, so listen to me. It wasn't your fault; it never was. There was nothing you could have done to save her, nothing any of us could have done. You think you're the only one who cared, who still cares, but that's not true. We all remember."

Raven took a shuddering breath. "We weren't sure how you'd react if we brought up the anniversary of Terra's death, especially this year since we're not off chasing some egotistical criminal to keep our minds off it…or since you saw her alive and well. If we had known how suppressing these things would affect you, we would have said something. _I_ would have said something."

The Beast was silent throughout all of this, so Raven took full advantage and went on. "There was nothing you could have done to stop me from being shot the other day either." For the first time the Beast shifted. "I know you've been feeling guilty about that and there's no reason to. There was nothing you could have done differently. It was my mistake, but I'm okay. I'm still here and I won't be going anywhere. I—I'm not Terra."

The Beast's huge form began to shrink, the fangs becoming shorter, the shaggy hair receding, and there was Beast Boy, shivering in a tattered uniform. He turned slowly to face Raven and looked at her with tear-filled eyes.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire's voice echoed all around the cavern, announcing her arrival with the others.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked, gripping Beast Boy's shoulder while Cyborg hung back staring.

Raven cut in to save Beast Boy from the questioning he was undoubtedly about to face. "Let's go home. Beast Boy needs to rest. I'll explain what happened once we're back at the tower. Okay?"

She looked to Beast Boy as she spoke, making sure he was all right with her telling the others what had happened. He gave a weak, grateful smile.

-T-

"Beast Boy is in control of his morphing abilities once more?" Starfire asked.

"He should be fine," Raven nodded. "There's always a risk since his DNA is unstable, but no more than usual."

Cyborg shook his head in disbelief. "Poor guy. It was eating him up inside."

As Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg continued to talk, Raven crept out of the common room towards Beast Boy's room.

"Beast Boy?" she called as she knocked gently. "It's Raven."

The door slid open. "Hey."

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay. Are you?"

He looked down before answering. "Thanks to you. You kind of called me back over there, you know. I thought I was ripped away from my human side for good this time, but you didn't let me give up. I can't…thanks, Raven."

Raven smiled. "Good night."

"Good night."

On the way to her own room, Raven ran across Robin rounding a corner. In such close vicinity to him, she noticed that his dark circles were the most prominent feature on his face.

"Get some sleep tonight, Robin," she said quietly him before disappearing into her room.

 _Sleep?_ Robin thought once in his room, leaning up against the wall. _If only. Maybe I should say something…no, Beast Boy just gave them enough to worry about. I'll be fine. It has to stop eventually, right?_


	8. Sleepy Hollow

Robin wanted to die.

It was agony, pure agony, to know that all he ever loved had been taken away from him forever right before his very eyes and he had done nothing to stop it. He shook under wave after wave of unbearable grief, finally collapsing onto the floor, unable to support his own weight. Sobs wracked his throat and lungs, making breathing itself a challenge. But what did breathing matter? He wanted to stop living anyway; cutting off his oxygen was as a good a way as any to get that done.

The pool of blood that he was lying in was not his own. Or was it? Through the haze of pain, Robin couldn't remember. He was scarcely even aware of the hollow sound of laughter that echoed around him, mixing with the sound of his own ragged crying…

His eyes snapped open.

He was in his bed at Titans Tower and his face was soaked with tears and sweat. His heart was pumping hard, like he had been running. Judging from the intense light that glared at him from between the blinds, he saw that it was morning. Robin slowly sat up, feeling as if he didn't even sleep at all last night. He held his aching head in his hands as he reflected on the dream he had just been having.

These nightmares had become steadily more vivid and frequent since they started on the night of the blackout and he didn't think he could take them anymore. He went through hell as he slept, and it wasn't as if the feeling just went away once he was awake.

Every dream, every nightmare, was locked away in Robin's mind, feeding his fear and anguish. Try as he might to hide it from his friends, he knew the time was coming when he wouldn't be able to keep this from them anymore. He was surprised no one had heard him cry out in his sleep, as he was certain he was doing most nights now.

Even as that thought crossed his mind, a knock came at his door. Robin blinked to clear his head a little, staggered from his bed, and pressed the keypad which opened his door.

It was Starfire. "Robin, are you well? I heard noises come from your room and I thought perhaps there was trouble."

He tried to keep his face blank as he scrambled to think of something to say. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just…working out before I came out for breakfast." Robin tried to straighten his body, which was hunched with exhaustion. Maybe she'd believe the cold sweat that covered him was actually from training.

Starfire looked into his face, taking in the deep, dark circles under his eyes which were clearly visible despite the shadowy light and his mask. Robin stared at a point over her shoulder, avoiding her eyes. He was afraid if he looked directly into them she would know he was lying. She bit her lower lip to keep herself from saying anything, remembering what happened the last time she had tried to help him, and just nodded. She turned away to head back to the common room, wondering if Robin's cuts and bruises had healed yet.

Robin gazed at Starfire's retreating back for a moment before heading back inside his room to get dressed. He looked down at his bare stomach and chest before putting his shirt on, fingering the faded scars that covered his body. That trail was a dead-end now. Though he analyzed his injuries obsessively in every spare moment he had, he couldn't identify how he might have gotten them. Something he had never encountered before his disappearance had left its mark on him. With a pang he realized he may never find out what it was.

Starfire's face surfaced to the forefront of his mind. He was pushing her away again; it was his fault and he knew it. Robin despised himself for lying to her, but it was for her own good. By keeping these dreams to himself, he was saving the others from having just one more thing to worry about. He had already given them more than his share of that.

-T-

Robin headed to the common room for breakfast, bleary-eyed and weak with a lack of sleep but determined to act as if nothing was wrong.

As the double-doors to the kitchen slid back, Robin saw that his friends were already awake and seemed to have been for some time. Cyborg was arguing with Beast Boy by the stove about breakfast. Cyborg had obviously won because Beast Boy was glaring at him reproachfully while clutching an unopened, plastic package that said in big bubbly letters _Meatless Bacon_. Raven and Starfire were setting the table. Starfire looked up at Robin as he walked into the room and gave him a wavering smile. He looked even worse in broad daylight.

"Good morning." Robin promptly hid his face behind the newspaper.

Cyborg looked around over his shoulder to see spiked hair poking out from over the paper. "Morning. Overslept today, huh?" He flicked his eyes over to Starfire, whose own eyes were boring so intensely into the newspaper that Cyborg wouldn't have been surprised if it caught fire from her glance, which really wasn't all that strange to think, after all.

Robin didn't put his newspaper down, but said, "I guess so."

Starfire continued looking at him while Cyborg and Raven exchanged troubled glances.

"Dude!" Beast Boy said loudly, oblivious to the mounting tension that surrounded him. "You _never_ sleep this late! You're even the last one up this morning. What gives?"

"I just wanted to sleep in today, that's all."

Beast Boy grinned. He was ecstatic that Robin, the early riser and the one who usually scolded him for sleeping in so late, had woken up after him. He continued delightedly, "Well, I just want it to be known that for once I, Beast Boy, have gotten a start on my day before our fearless leader—"

Robin leapt up from his seat and threw down the newspaper.

Beast Boy's voice died and his mouth dropped open. Cyborg turned fully away from the stove with his spatula held idly in midair, egg yolk dripping in soft splooshes onto the floor. Raven lowered the plate she held, narrowing her eyes and looking back and forth between Robin and Starfire.

Starfire had never stopped looking at Robin.

He slowly turned his head to look at each of them, feeling drained and dizzy. He couldn't handle their attention, their imminent questions. "I'm going to go get some air."

He strode from the room with his cape whipping out behind him.

-T-

Beast Boy felt awful, but Raven and Cyborg assured him that something had already been bothering Robin and he wasn't to blame. All the same, it didn't help Beast Boy's conscience that Robin spent the rest of the day in the city and didn't return home until dusk. Not that Robin had told them where he ran off to; they wound up tracking his comlink signal.

The next morning, Robin was the first one present in the kitchen. Beast Boy barely looked at him, afraid that he would upset him again, and he stayed uncharacteristically silent. Meanwhile, Robin tried to act as if yesterday had never happened. The others decided to play along for now, but they were all alert and waiting for the very next chance they had to confront their leader about it.

That chance never arose, but there were signs that all was not right. Robin was becoming slower and less agile in battle, dragging behind the rest of the team. Try as he might to cover for his shortcomings, they all saw that his fighting skills weren't what they once were.

Around noon, Starfire went up to the roof to talk to Robin. As she opened the door, she skimmed the rooftop for him and found him slumped against the ledge.

Desperately trying not to panic, Starfire ran to him. To her relief and utter confusion, Robin had just fallen asleep.

_What is wrong with him?_

Starfire stared at Robin and fought to repress a shiver that she knew was not from the breeze. She couldn't help but think about the last time she found Robin unconscious on the roof, when his body had so suddenly appeared. She decided to keep an eye on him from the crack in the open door and make sure he woke up safely, knowing he wouldn't like to know any of them had found him like this.

She just couldn't understand why he just wouldn't accept their help. _Her_ help. Hidden from view, she muffled her tears in her cupped hands.

-T-

Every night that week brought nightmares. They would either keep Robin up at night or harshly jolt him awake from restless sleeping fits. He had come to dread them, so that eventually he just decided it wasn't worth trying to sleep at all.

He got into the habit of pretending to go to bed at the same time as the rest of his teammates, but the actually staying up the entire night, making himself stay awake. On edge and sleep-deprived, Robin convinced himself that lying to his friends was the right thing to do, and they thought that he was getting better when really he was getting worse.

Despite his best efforts to forgo sleep, Robin would often find himself jerking awake from a shallow, nightmare-plagued dozes all over the tower. He realized that his friends were probably finding him asleep at strange times and places, but he was hoping against hope that wasn't true.

Tonight, after the other Titans headed to bed, Robin waited in his own room until all was silent in the tower, as had come to be his habit. He was virtually a shadow as the carpeting muffled any sound his metal-soled boots would have made as he crept past their rooms. He paused before Starfire's room, suddenly seized with the urge to knock on her door and confess everything. She was the only one who made him feel safe when hell reigned around them in the past; why not confide in her now? Except he knew that this time, she didn't have the answers. The only thing he would accomplish would be to make her worry even more than she already was about him.

He kept walking.

Once in the kitchen, Robin made a pot of coffee and poured himself a steaming cup before heading over to the couch. As he sipped from the mug, he stared out at the crescent shaped moon and star-strewn sky. The sight should have brought him some peace, but even awake he couldn't escape his dreams. His mind kept revisiting them, even now, so much that he was oblivious to the dark energy rising up from the cushions and reforming beside him.

"Sleep walking?"

Robin shot off the couch in surprise, spilling scalding hot coffee all over himself. He ignored the burning sensation that erupted over his arms as he arranged himself in a defensive position.

Raven sat on the couch with her hands folded in her lap, the look on her face caught between concern and an apparent struggle not to laugh.

"Ow," Robin said dully as he relaxed, feeling the blisters boil to the surface of his skin.

"Here," Raven said stretching out her glowing hands towards him. "Let me."

He watched the glow of her magic wash over his skin and make the blisters recede along with the pain. "Thanks." He rubbed his newly healed skin. "I'm, uh, going to go change."

"I'll be here when you get back."

He was afraid of that. He went to his room and changed quickly. As promised, Raven was still sitting on the couch, gazing at him with an expectant look as he walked back into the room.

"You couldn't sleep?" Robin started.

She scoffed. "I think you're the one sitting here drinking coffee at—" She turned to look at the clock on the wall for show. "— two in the morning."

Robin didn't answer, just stared out at the rippling water. It looked both beautiful and eerie at this hour.

"Care to explain?" Raven urged, at once gentle and firm.

He struggled with himself. Part of him still wanted to keep this from them, but another part fiercely wanted to get everything out in the open at last. He was so tired of dealing with this alone. His eyelids were heavy with exhaustion, his body sagging with the effort of staying awake.

All at once the Titan alarm went off, renting the silence.

When Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy came hurtling through the common room doors, Robin was already at the main computer. "There's a disturbance downtown. Let's go."

The report had been vague, so Robin decided it was best that they headed into the city by their own means in case they had to split up. Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy as an owl took to the sky while Cyborg and Robin covered the ground in the T-Car and the R-Cycle. They approached the bridge that spanned over the bay.

The R-Cycle sped ahead of the others. Robin was finding it very difficult to focus. His head was clouded with exhaustion and kept wandering back to the hellish scenes from his dreams. If he could just have some respite from it all, he would be able to sort out everything and figure out what to do. He was too drained to go on anymore, though his mind was screaming at him to push past the fatigue, his body couldn't. He could feel reality slipping away from him, and though he was dimly aware of what was about to happen, there was nothing he could do to stop it…

-T-

Robin was asleep at the wheel and the R-Cycle swerved wildly as it reached the bridge. The other Titans saw the bike weaving across the lanes up ahead and shared the same unholy, gut-wrenching fear as they watched listed to one side before veering sharply to the right and drag along the pavement, sending sparks flying.

The motorcycle, with Robin still astride it, went careening off the bridge. They were too far to catch him, too far behind to reach him in time. Robin was separated from the wreckage that was his bike as it sailed through the air and went plunging into the dark waters below.

Starfire and Beast Boy got there first. Without a second's hesitation, the two dove headlong from the sky into the bay, Beast Boy morphing into a dolphin as he went. The water was ice cold and murky. Starfire was at the point of hysteria; it was converting her senses into nothing but blind panic.

Beast Boy swam more quickly than she could with his streamline body. He kept on repeating _he's fine, he's fine_ over and over in his head as he scoured the water. A flash of green and red caught his eye and he chattered to get Starfire's attention.

Robin's body was suspended by a current, back arched and eyes closed, his skin a ghostly-green from the moonlight's glow through the water. The two of them came to their senses at the same time. Beast Boy turned human and paddled forward with Starfire. They each grabbed an arm and heaved him towards the surface.

Screeching tires announced Cyborg's arrival while Raven was leaning over the bridge's edge, eyes glowing as she peered into the water.

"Holy shit!" He called down to Starfire and Beast Boy who were shrouded in darkness as they broke the surface. "Do you have him?"

Instead of wasting time to answer Cyborg with words, Beast Boy changed into a pterodactyl, grabbed Robin's shoulders, and flew up with him. He set Robin down on the asphalt very gently. Robin's body was sopping and limp. His head flopped to the side as Beast Boy laid him out, but other than that he was still.

Cyborg stooped over him, but looked up again quickly with fear blatant in his one human eye. "He—he's not breathing."

"The hell he is not!"

They whipped their heads to stare at Starfire in shock, but Cyborg leapt backwards as she bent over Robin with a fierce green burn to her eyes and hands. Starfire started to perform CPR, over and over again, simultaneously jolting Robin with low grades of her starbolts. Around the sixth round of chest compressions, Starfire started to sob. By the ninth time she forced air into his unresponsive lungs with mouth-to-mouth, Beast Boy approached her slowly from behind with tears in his eyes.

"Starfire—"

She was trembling violently, but she continued to perform CPR. "No. _No._ "

Cyborg chewed the inside of his cheek, trying not to succumb to the stinging in his eye. Raven had a single tear rolling down her pale cheek and her lower lip quivered.

Far beyond her breaking point, Starfire accidentally drove a higher voltage starbolt into Robin's chest. There was a gurgling sound, but she heard nothing over the sound of her own uneven breathing as she cried. Then the gurgling grew louder, and they all looked down, hardly believing their ears. Robin rolled over onto his side and began to heave water from his lungs.

Starfire threw herself down on top of him, gripping him close as he continued to cough and splutter. "Never do that again!"

"We need to get him back to the tower," Raven said. Her eyes glowed brightly and she stretched out her hands. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

The entire team was encased in the light of Raven's powers and they vanished from the bridge.

-T-

A black raven appeared in the tower common room, leaving behind five Titans as it dispersed.

Cyborg ran to get his medical equipment from med bay while Raven approached Robin. Before she could reach him, he made to shakily stand up.

"Lie down, Robin." Raven's voice had a dangerous edge.

He began, "I'm f—"

"Don't you daresay you're fine! You haven't been yourself in weeks. You ran off a bridge tonight; you almost _died_. Starfire nearly went mental trying to resuscitate you after you were gone. We almost lost you tonight, Robin! Do you understand that? You owe us an explanation."

Robin's glance flickered to each of his friend's faces. He felt trapped. His eyes rested on Starfire's own red-rimmed ones. He hated that he was yet again the reason she was crying, and he couldn't keep lying to them anymore.

"This is going to sound stupid," he began slowly, "but I've been having these horrible dreams since the blackout. I don't know what they mean or why I've been having them, but they make me feel like…" He shook his head. "I get trapped inside my own mind. It's all blood and pain and…." His voice faltered "I didn't know what to do. I've stopped sleeping to make it stop. I can't stand being in my own head anymore."

Robin kept his eyes locked with Starfire's as he unclasped his cape from around his shoulders and lifted his tunic up over his head. "These are all from when I disappeared." He saw Raven open her mouth to speak, but he cut across her. "I didn't let you heal these because I wanted to figure out what caused. They were the only lead I had. Can't you understand how badly I need to know what happened? I didn't say anything because you all have had enough to worry about these past years on my behalf. I just didn't want to worry you anymore."

Cyborg snapped. "Well _that_ worked out well, didn't it?"

Robin gave a bitter laugh as he ran his hand over his face.

"So…now what?" Beast Boy asked, voicing the exact thing they were all thinking.


	9. Out of Africa

"So…now what?"

Robin uncovered his face. "What do you mean, 'now what'? I told you what's been going on, just like you wanted. For all of you, that's the end of it."

The others stared in disbelief.

"The end of it?" broke out a strangled whisper.

Starfire looked at Robin like she had never seen him before. Her hair and clothes were soaked through and clung to her frame, steadily dripping water.

" _The end of it_?" she echoed again as if disgusted with the way the words tasted in her mouth. "How can you even pretend to say that… _f'pth lorvani_ …what are you thinking… _X'hal…_ do you have any…what right…"

She was incoherent, switching from English to Tamaranian without even realizing it as she struggled to get a hold of herself and paced a small patch of the carpet over and over. The others watched her with mounting alarm as her voice rose and she became more and more agitated.

" _Uthra pgth'r_ …I cannot believe…how could anyone…" Her babbling finally gave way to sobs and she dashed from the common room, the doors slamming together behind her.

Raven spun around to fix her a glare on Robin. The boys were shocked to see that her eyes were full of tears. "I hope you're happy," she said with as much venom she could muster before striding from the room.

It was a few moments of uncomfortable silence before any of them spoke.

"We should get out of these wet clothes," Beast Boy finally said quietly. "Don't want to be asking for more trouble than we already have."

Nodding mutely, Robin followed Beast Boy out.

-T-

Beast Boy peeled off his costume, toweled off, and found dry clothes all while in a sort of reverie.

 _For not wanting any of us to worry,_ _Robin's doing a pretty crappy job. Poor Starfire. And Raven…_

His heart skipped a beat. The look on her face had pierced him, and he wondered why Raven's much quieter display of distress worried him more than Starfire's. There was the fact that Starfire couldn't really be comforted by anyone other than Robin. But who could make Raven feel better?

Rubbing the towel over his hair, he threw it in a heap in the corner of his room before heading out the door. He found himself staring at Raven's bedroom door with no conscious recollection of walking there. _Since I'm here, I should check on her to make sure she's okay._

Beast Boy rapped on the door, but there was no answer. He hesitated for a minute before taking a step forward and placing his ear against the door. Muffled and faint, he heard weeping just before the door was encased in black and flew open. Beast Boy toppled through the now clear doorframe.

Facedown on the carpet and feeling like he might have broken his nose in the fall, Beast Boy feebly rolled onto his back with a quiet groan. The room was dark except for a few candles, but the open doorway let light flood in from the corridor. As Beast Boy's eyes adjusted, he saw a silhouette bearing down on him.

"Um, hi?"

"What were you doing?" Raven's voice sounded thick.

Propping himself up on one elbow and gingerly feeling his nose with his free hand, Beast Boy answered, "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

She paused. "And why did that include eavesdropping?"

Beast Boy flushed and was now very glad for the dark. "I…uh…didn't want to intrude?" It was more of a question than an answer.

"Beast Boy, that makes no sense whatsoever."

He gave a nervous laugh and finally picked himself up off the ground. His eyes were getting used to the contrast of the light and as he looked intently at Raven, he noticed that she had tears tracks on her pale cheeks. Raven self-consciously drew her cowl up to obscure her face in shadow.

"So are you okay?" he asked uncertainly.

Raven looked back at him. Her cowl didn't hide her entire face and he saw her lip tremble.

"Raven…" He reached for her hood and slowly pulled it away. She was crying again. "Hey, now, c'mon."

"Please, just go," she managed to articulate, but it was choked by a sob. "I'm okay."

Beast Boy just looked at her before walking past her towards the door.

-T-

Raven was glad that he was listening to her, but there was another feeling too. Was it disappointment?

Hearing the door close behind her, Raven walked swiftly over to her bed and threw herself down onto it without a backwards glance. She began to cry in earnest, no longer able to pretend to restrain whatever she was able when Beast Boy was in the room. She wasn't sure what right she had to break down like this, but Robin was worrying and frustrating her to no end, she ached for Starfire, and she was beginning to fear that their team was starting to fall apart.

It was nice of Beast Boy to check on her, but she felt undeserving the attention while Robin and Starfire were so in need of it. Though she couldn't help but feel her stomach back-flip as she recalled Beast Boy gently removing her cowl…

Something warm stroked her back. Raven uttered a little scream and her pillow exploded as she bolted upright. Beast Boy was sitting on the edge of her bed with his hand pulled back against his chest in surprise and embarrassment.

"Beast Boy!" she choked out. She could feel her face burning with shame. "How long have you been there?"

He looked a little red too as he answered, "I never left. I just went to shut the door so we could talk without the others overhearing, but then you…" He trailed off. "I didn't mean to startle you. You just looked so sad that I…" He colored more deeply and didn't finish.

Raven couldn't come up with anything intelligible to say in excuse for her behavior, which she thought Beast Boy probably saw as unfounded and selfish. Beast Boy was mortified for accident catching her unawares and was afraid she was angry.

"Want to talk about it?"

She blinked and looked up at him. His fang was protruding from the corner of his mouth and he was looking at her steadily, though still a little red-tinged. "You don't think I'm stupid for acting like this?" she asked.

Beast Boy's eyebrows shot up and he said, "Of course not! This has been hell on all of us." He grinned a little before adding, "Plus, you never act stupid."

Raven hiccupped a little laugh, then they both feel quiet. After a few minutes, Beast Boy got heavily to his feet and Raven's eyes flicked up to gaze at him.

"I don't want to make you talk if you don't want to," he said in a small voice. "I'm around if you need me."

"Wait." Raven's hand flew forward to grab his. "Stay."

Beast Boy sank slowly back onto the bed looking at her hand in his. She quickly pulled away and turned her head so she couldn't see his face.

"Sorry," she whispered. Without giving him time to answer, she went on, "I'm just so worried. Robin's dreams are giving him more trouble than he's telling us, I can tell, and I know Starfire sees it too." Her tone became harder. "The stubborn idiot needs our help, but he's so worried about seeming weak that he…well you saw him out there. He's doing Starfire no favors by keeping her in the dark, no matter what he tells himself. She's terrified." Tears stung her eyes as she went on. "And now I'm wondering if this is all just bringing us a little closer to falling apart. Starfire saw a future where the Titans were gone. What if this is it?" She shuddered. "I must look so selfish like this in here while—"

"Don't," Beast Boy cut her off. She still wouldn't look at him, so he took her chin and raised her face to his. "You are the least selfish person I have ever met. You have every right to feel like this; I feel that way too. I don't know what to do about Robin, but we'll figure it out. We always do. I do know that the Titans aren't going anywhere. I can promise you that."

Raven closed her eyes as the tears tried to escape. She felt his hand leave her face and when both his arms wrapped around her, she hugged him back tightly. Once she pulled herself together, she gently pushed away from Beast Boy. He didn't seem ready to let go yet.

"We should see what the others are doing."

Beast Boy only nodded.

They headed to the door, but Raven turned to look at him before she stepped out into the hall. "Beast Boy?"

He looked at her standing there with her eyes bright from crying and the light from the corridor casting a halo over her.

"Thanks."

-T-

It had started to rain.

Robin lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling and listening to the distant crash of thunder overhead. What was he supposed to do now? He was torn between his decision not to have his friends interfere in what he saw as his own problem, or running to Starfire and agreeing to anything she asked of him as long as things went back to the way they were before. Not that he expected it be that easy.

_How is it that I always seem to make her cry?_

The image of Starfire flushed and frantic was burned into his brain. He got up from his bed and walked out of his room into the hall. Lightning lit up his path clear as day every so often. Coming to a halt, he didn't waste any time knocking on Starfire's door. He waited for the door to slide open, but it never did. Robin knocked on the door a little harder.

"Starfire?" he called softly with his mouth pressed up against the edge of the door. "Starfire? Can you let me in, please?"

He might as well have been talking to the wall for all the reaction he got.

"I'm sorry. _I'm sorry_. Please, just open the door so I can see you."

When she still didn't answer, Robin began to feel anxious. She couldn't be so mad at him that she wouldn't even say a word to him. "Starfire?"

The steady pelt of the rain went uninterrupted. His imagination turned on him as he thought of all sorts of reasons why Starfire wouldn't answer him. Maybe she couldn't. Maybe something had happened to her while she was so upset. Maybe she left.

"Starfire." There was panic in his voice now. "Open the door or tell me to go away, but say something."

Silence.

"I'm coming in!" Robin hit the override button on the wall console and forced the door to slide open.

The room was empty. Stepping inside, he saw the window was thrown wide open, the purple curtains swaying in the wind as rain soaked them. He strode over to the window to close it. Scanning the room once more, he walked out to the common room.

Cyborg was standing over stove, cooking while Silkie was eating from his little dish by the counter.

"Have you seen Starfire?"

Cyborg turned to look at Robin. "Not since we got back, no."

Robin tried to keep his head. There was one other place she might be. He walked up the flight of stairs that led to the roof. The storm hadn't let up at all and it sounded even louder from up here. Swinging open the door, he squinted across the span of the roof through the sheets of rain. He caught sight of something red and a flash of purple.

Starfire was standing near the ledge, arm wrapped around herself. She wasn't crying, though the rain made it almost impossible for him to tell, but she had a glazed, dull look in her eyes that broke his heart. Stepping in front of her, Robin pulled her close and starting kissing her. Long slow kisses on her cheeks, on her eyes, on her temples, on her lips.

"I'm sorry," he murmured between his kisses. "I'm so sorry."

She didn't react until his lips met hers the first time. At that point, her already unsteady knees gave way. As he felt her weight lean more heavily on him, he sank to his knees with her, laid her down on the pavement, and covered her body with his own, never once stopping his kisses and whispered apologies.

Gradually he just held Starfire. They lay there side by side in each other's arms as the rain continued to fall and the lightning cracked above them.

-T-

Cyborg set down the last plate on the table. While the others had disappeared, he decided to make them a decent meal that they were sure to all need.

Raven and Beast Boy had come into the common room together five minutes ago, but had they sat as far away from each other as possible. She was leaning up against the back of the sofa with her arms folded across her chest while Beast Boy sat on one of the stools by the kitchen counter. Cyborg thought they were acting weird. They weren't even looking at each other, but he let it go, thinking that their behavior had something to do with what happened at the bridge.

He turned to Beast Boy. "Hey, BB, could you go call the other two?"

Beast Boy didn't have time to do more than slip off his stool before the common room doors slid open to let in a very wet Robin and Starfire.

Cyborg stared. "Didn't you change when we got home?"

Robin coughed.

"Dinner's ready, so go change fast," Raven told them, looking from the window where rain was still coming down in torrents to her dripping friends. "And this time, try to keep them dry."

Starfire let out a giggle and Robin's cheeks stained red before they both turned to leave and change.

-T-

Dinner was quiet. Almost all of them wanted to talk about what Robin had told them earlier, but they didn't want to break the peace. With nothing else to do, they cleared their plates of the last strands of spaghetti.

Seeing that her friends were done, Starfire turned to look at Robin and squeezed his hand under the table. "We still need to discuss what shall be done about Robin's dilemma."

Cyborg and Beast Boy each shot furtive looks at Robin, but as he didn't seem like he was about burst into an angry tirade.

"I believe that it would be better if we come up with something together."

"And we're _all_ okay with that?" Raven looked pointedly from Starfire to Robin

Robin cleared his throat. "Yeah." He squeezed Starfire's hand a little harder before continuing. "I'm sorry about earlier. I have a hard time letting people in—"

"Tcha, you think?" Cyborg snorted. Then he smiled. "We know. All's forgiven."

Beast Boy grinned and Raven nodded.

"So what shall we do?" Starfire asked.

They all came to the same conclusion fairy quickly, but they also knew Robin wasn't going to like it.

It was Raven was who finally had the mettle to suggest it. "We're going to have to monitor you while you sleep, Robin. It's the only thing I can think of that could possibly be of any use to figure out these dreams."

"No, there has to be something else," Robin protested. "What did the rest of you think of?"

"Monitoring would be the best way," Cyborg said.

Beast Boy shrugged. "Same, dude."

"I agree," Starfire said softly, "with Raven. If these dreams are a manifestation of something that is being repressed in your mind, there is no other alternative."

"I can't believe this. Raven, you barely even let anyone step inside your room, let alone sit in there watching you while you sleep."

"Robin," Starfire continued to speak in gentle tones as if she were trying to soothe a child, "you agreed to let us help you. You promised."

He looked down at the hand which was gripping hers and then let his eyes drift up to lock on hers.

"All right."

-T-

Every night that week, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven took turns monitoring Robin in pairs. He went to bed hooked up to wires and machines that gave a read out on his REM cycle. Robin found out quickly that he couldn't fall asleep while being stared at; so, when he turned in for the night, Cyborg would watch the built-in monitor on his arm until Robin's breathing became slow and regular and then he would give the all-clear to the others. Once Robin fell asleep, whoever was on duty crept inside the room and observed him for the night.

So far nothing had happened. Not one abnormal dream. It was strange because the nightmares had been constant until the accident at the bridge. Now that his friends were looking for them, the dreams seemed to have gone into hiding. Robin just hoped his friends didn't think he was going crazy again.

On the sixth night, Raven and Beast Boy had a shift together for the first time. Robin left the common room to go to bed and after about an hour, Cyborg walked up to the couch where Raven was reading and Beast Boy was lounging as he watched TV.

"Okay, you two, Robin is asleep, and I'm off to bed. Good night."

Beast Boy switched off the television and tossed the remote onto the cushion separating him from Raven. Looking at one another, they crossed the common room and the length of the hall to Robin's room in a kind of awkward silence.

Once in front of the door, Beast Boy reached out to hit the console next to Robin's door, but Raven stooped him in mid-motion by grabbing his wrist in her hand and minutely shaking her head. Without a word, she phased them through the door, deposited them on the other side in the far corner of the room.

Robin was half-covered as he slept. Several wires streamed from the humming, whirring machines to his chest, which had to stay bare so Cyborg's monitors could be read his vitals without interference.

Beast Boy grinned and muttered, "You'd think he would throw something decent on, knowing we're coming in here. No shame, that one."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he'd be happy to put a shirt on once I tell him you've been ogling him."

He absently rubbed the place where Raven hand held his arm when they phased inside.

The first half hour without them exchanging a syllable, only unnecessarily checking the monitors every now and again. If the monitor detected something it wouldn't be quiet about it.

"I'm bored," Beast Boy whined. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall.

Raven had just come out of her lotus position in the air where she had been probing the edges of Robin's mind for any sign of trouble and sank onto the chair beneath her. "Ugh, you aren't two, Beast Boy. Do what you normally do on your shift in here to pass the time."

"Starfire or Cyborg usually talk to me."

"So talk."

"Really?"

Raven turned to look at him. Beast Boy's eyes had lit up and she couldn't help but notice that his fang was poking from the corner of his mouth like it always did when he got excited. She gave a half-smile. "Yeah, really."

"Okay."

It was quiet after that.

"Uh, Beast Boy?"

"Yeah?"

"What was all that for if you're not even saying anything now?"

"I don't know what to say," Beast Boy told her with a shrug. "What do you want me to talk about?"

She just looked at him. In all the times Beast Boy had talked to her since they met, never once could she remember him letting her choose what they could be talking about. Usually, he rambled about anything that popped into his head. She considered what to pick. Really, only one thing occurred to her, and quite easily too, as she was startled to discover. There was something she had always wanted to know about Beast Boy that she never found the nerve to ask before. She barely dared to ask now.

"I was wondering," Raven began in a slow voice, still unsure, "if you would tell me about yourself. Who were you before you became a Titan? How did you get your morphing ability?"

She saw Beast Boy blanch.

"It's just, you know about the darkest parts of my past. I know almost nothing about you…" She trailed off as she saw his eyes glaze over. "Beast Boy?"

At the sound her calling his name, Beast Boy shook himself. "All right."

"What?"

"All right. It makes sense, really," he went on as if trying to convince himself. "It's only fair that I tell you some of my secrets since I know yours."

Raven saw him look around the room like he was lost and opened her mouth to tell him to forget she asked. She didn't want to cause him pain.

But then he started, "My name was Garfield Logan. My parents were biologists. The research they were involved with had them traveling a lot, and one of their expeditions took them to Africa, in the Upper Lamumba region. They were doing a field study on genetic codes or something. They'd be gone a long time, so they decided to take me along with them."

 _Beast Boy's parents were scientists?_ It was a stupid thing to concentrate on and she knew it, but she couldn't help it.

"I was only four or five," Beast Boy went on, "and I got into everything. I remember running around in these giant rainforests, climbing trees, chasing after animals, always slipping away from wherever my mom and dad were." He looked regretful suddenly. "If I had just stayed with them, I probably would have been better off."

Raven had never heard him sound so bitter. She wanted to comfort him, but he gave her no time.

"I thought the monkey was weird when I saw it. I mean, it was green. That was one animal I didn't run after. It scared me, so I ran back to where my parents were, but they were so far away. I had gone much farther from them then I was allowed. The monkey came after me. I ran as fast as I could, but it was no good. The thing caught me and bit me and then took off. I don't remember too much right after that. I felt so strange and sick, but I knew I had to get to my parents. I got to them somehow, eventually, and then I passed out. They found out that the monkey had given me a tropical disease called sakutia, which is supposed to be fatal to humans. My parents were frantic to save me from the mess I got myself into. There was no hope left except this untested machine that was supposed to distribute a life-saving serum into my bloodstream. It kept me from dying, but my skin, my blond hair, and blue eyes were turned green as a side-effect."

Beast Boy looked down at his hands, deep in thought, and his voice became quiet. "My mother and father were sickened by the sight of me, I could tell. They never looked at me the same afterwards."

"That can't be true," Raven said softly.

"It is. A few years after, I was out in the forest with my mother when this massive snake came after her. I heard her scream and saw the snake lunging for her and my body went crazy. I remembered learning a while back that snakes were afraid of mongooses, and as I thought it, I became a mongoose. That was the first time I ever transformed." He clenched his hands, which he was still staring at. "My mother was afraid of me. I couldn't tell if she was more frightened of the snake right then, or her own son. I felt like such a freak. Once my parents figured out that morphing into animals was a consequence of the serum altering my DNA, I was treated more like one of their science experiments than like a kid, always being prodded to transform into more animals even long after I felt like it. I _hated_ my ability back then."

Beast Boy finally looked away from his hands, but his eyes started darting all over the room. "Not too long after, we all went on this boat trip. The boat's hull hit something and started to sink." His voice was nothing but a hoarse whisper. "My parents told me to leave, to fly. I could morph into a few small birds, but my ability wasn't extensive enough for me to turn into anything much bigger than that."

Raven felt her stomach drop.

"I tried thinking of huge animals that could help them too, something, anything, but I couldn't change into them. The boat went under, dragging mom and dad with it, and I watched it happen from the sky." His eyes shone with tears as he looked for the first time at Raven. "They were trying to help me practice my ability in the lab, and I didn't care while I was in there just because I got a little tired. I should have been able to save them, but I was useless. I tried so hard, but I wasn't good enough. I just wasn't good enough."

His head sank into his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees.

Raven quickly got on her knees in front of him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Beast Boy."

He wouldn't look at her. She gently placed a hand on his cheek. Beast Boy lowered his hands and saw that Raven's eyes had glossed over with tears.

"It was my fault they died. It was all my fault."

Raven shook her head fiercely. "No. You were a little boy, you didn't know how to use your powers completely yet. You can't blame yourself."

Beast Boy looked at her like a child desperately looking for comfort. As she gently stroked his cheek with her thumb, Raven was seized with the urge to close the little space that remained between her and Beast Boy. Slowly, she leaned closer and he watched her with an unreadable expression on his face.

" _NOOOOOOO_!"

Raven and Beast Boy wrenched apart, only a breath away from their lips meeting, but they weren't thinking of that now.

Robin was screaming in his bed like his heart was being torn out.


	10. The Boy Wonder

Starfire couldn't sleep. She lay curled up in bed with her cheek pressed against the cool pillow, looking out her window with unfocused eyes. It was calm outside tonight, the cloudless sky dotted with millions of twinkling stars scattered around the sliver of moon. The ocean joined seamlessly with the sky and doubling the stars with its reflective surface. It was a lovely sight. Starfire wished she could feel just as peaceful.

Her thoughts turned to Robin for the hundredth time that night. At this point, thinking about Robin was instinctual. Breathe. Eat. Sleep. Think of Robin. That night a little over a week ago when he had nearly died and still refused help Starfire had lost it and she knew she had. Sometimes she couldn't believe he could at once be so infuriatingly unyielding. Despite being the only powerless of the group, Robin seemed to think that he had no limits, or if he did he completely disregarded them.

She was relieved that he finally was letting them in. It made her heart easier, but only a little. She couldn't help but continue to worry for him. Surely everything that was happening to him wasn't normal?

Starfire sighed deeply and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. Sleep was a lost cause tonight. Her brain simply wouldn't slow down enough to let her rest. If she remembered correctly, Raven and Beast Boy were with Robin tonight.

" _NOOOOOOO_!"

Starfire sat up so quickly that her head spun and Silkie warbled in protest of being woken up unceremoniously. Her pulse hammered while she struggled to disentangle herself from the covers.

Fresh screams followed the first as Starfire leapt off her bed, bolted to her door, and slammed hard on the wall console. Stumbling into the hall, she heard crashing in Cyborg's room before his own door slid open and he thundered through it. He flipped open his shoulder light and the beam fell upon her. Meeting each other's eyes for an instant, they took off down the hall without uttering a word

The sight that met them when they forced open Robin's door was bad. The monitors were going haywire, blinking and beeping much too rapidly in time with his heart rate. Raven and Beast Boy were on either side of the bed trying to at once restrain and wake up Robin, who was thrashing wildly as he shouted and moaned in his sleep.

Raven caught sight of them. "Help us hold him down!"

Cyborg and Starfire were frozen in the doorframe, he with a slightly sick expression on his face and she simply clutching the wall to support herself, but Raven's voice roused them. Cyborg strode across the room in a few steps and pinned both of Robin's legs while Starfire took over Raven's place, trapping one of his arms against the bed.

"What is happening?" Starfire demanded with an edge of hysteria in her voice.

Beast Boy grunted as Robin's flailing became more violent. "He won't wake up. He started screaming— _ungh_ —his head off with no warning from the monitors and we haven't been able to make him—ow, damn it!—come around."

"I'm going to pull Robin out of his subconscious," said Raven.

As she folded herself into the lotus position in midair, she locked eyes with Starfire. "It won't be pleasant for him, but this is the only way I can think to get him to wake up before the stress kills him. His heart can only handle so much before it just gives out."

Starfire looked back at Raven with a strained expression and gave a tight nod. Raven closed her eyes. Black energy shaped like a raven flew from her and with a screech dove straight into Robin's chest. Robin continued to struggle and yell against the hold Beast Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg had on him. The shrieking of the monitors only became shriller as his convulsing increased. Starfire looked at Robin's face, which was gleaming with sweat and twisted in pain. Beast Boy looked first towards Starfire, whose bloodless lips were trembling, then to Cyborg's grim expression.

After some minutes had passed, the black raven emerged from Robin and back into Raven. Raven regained her feet as Robin's eyes snapped open, wild and unseeing.

"No!"

With an almighty wrench, he freed himself, obviously disoriented and half-asleep. He rocked his body to roll onto his feet and flipped over the foot of the bed. When he landed, he bent himself into a defensive position and snarled, " _Don't touch me_!"

No one moved.

Robin's eyes unclouded and he realized where he was at last. Panting heavily, he lowered his arms and sank to the floor. His back was to the wall and his head dropped onto his chest. Both hands were gripping his hair as he rocked himself back and forth, but not another sound escaped his lips.

Raven staggered slightly into the bedpost, clenching it so tightly to support herself that her fingertips were colorless. Beast Boy turned to look at her worriedly. She looked drained and nauseated, as if she had witnessed someone being violently ill.

"Robin," she whispered, "what the hell was _that_? Who—?"

Robin's head whipped up and she quieted at once. His look wasn't a plea for her silence; he had no strength for that. What made her voice die in her throat was the haunted, almost deadened look of his eyes.

"Don't," was all he said brokenly.

It was the first time any of them except Starfire had seen him without his mask, and it was wrong that when they finally saw his eyes, they were dark with pain.

Starfire didn't think she could bear it. She couldn't leave him to suffer alone and she wouldn't let him push them out again. She walked over to him carefully and made it to his side without him reacting; he only looked at the floor. She lowered herself next to him, folding her legs beneath her and sitting on her ankles. Tenderly, she pulled him to her. Robin buried his face in the crook of her neck. One of her arms held him tightly while the other stroked his back. Starfire closed her eyes and traced her fingers along the path they had made for themselves.

As though from far away, she heard the others leaving the room. When the door clicked shut, Robin stopped holding back and Starfire could only clutch at him as his entire body shuddered noiselessly, his hot tears dripping onto her shoulder. She felt like crying herself to see him like this. Robin, her Robin, always strong and the rock of the Titans, was now the boy clinging to her for comfort.

His breathing steadied eventually and he pulled away slightly to wipe at his eyes.

"Sorry, Starfire," he mumbled. He didn't look into her face, instead busying himself with wiping away the dampness he left on her neck and shoulder with shaking fingers.

She shook her head and her loose hair brushed against the hand he had on her. "Do not apologize. Never be ashamed to show us what you are feeling—to show _me_."

He stopped fussing with her now dry skin and flicked his unmasked eyes to hers. He was startled to see that she had been crying too, tears still collected in the corners of her eyes. As he looked, one small bead escaped and slipped slowly down the side of her face. He reached up and brushed it away.

"How is it that I always make you cry?"

Starfire couldn't speak, but she still wanted to get her message across. Placing one hand on the side of his face, she slowly shook her head. He felt feverish against her cool skin, and perhaps he was. Robin brought up his own hand and cradled the one she had against his cheek, leaning into it.

He sighed deeply, the troubled, clouded look he'd had since he awoke becoming more prominent. "I need to tell you something."

"Of course, you can tell me anything," she said.

"We should get the others to come back too."

Starfire pushed herself onto her feet. "I shall get them."

Robin nodded, giving her hand a gentle squeeze in thanks before letting her fingers slip from his grasp. She found the others in the common room, and the moment she stepped inside, they began to bombard her with questions.

"Is he all right?"

"Did he send you away?"

"What's going on?"

"Friends, please," Starfire raised in front of her. She understood how they felt, but she was not the one who could answer their questions. "Robin has asks that we join him in his room. There is something he wishes to tell us and I am sure he will explain everything."

-T-

Robin was on his feet and dressed when they arrived, though his mask wasn't on. He leaned heavily on the desk, though he tried not to let it be obvious. His friends were watching him expectantly and gazed at them for a minute before he spoke.

"I know that I can't ignore this anymore. The situation is out of my control. You all have the right to know what just happened—or at least, the parts that I can actually explain. You need to know some things about me to understand, things that I haven't told you. Any of you."

He fixed Starfire with a lingering look tinged with regret. He pushed himself off the desk and circled it while he reached into his utility belt and pulled out a key which he used to unlock one of the largest drawers. Reaching in with both hands, he lifted up a false bottom to slip out a thick, yellowing file that looked worn with age and frequent thumbing. Robin opened the file and they watched as he picked through it with an unreadable expression on his face. Finally finding the one he wanted, Robin placed the sheaf of papers onto the desk and walked back towards them with something clutched in his hand.

Robin held it out for them and Starfire took it in one of her trembling hands. The others crowded around her to look over her shoulder. It was a photograph. There was a tall, broad-shouldered man with his arm wrapped around a lovely woman. Between them was a small boy. He couldn't have been more than eight or nine, and he beaming brightly under his mop of untidy black hair. The man had the same dark hair and the smile that lit up his entire face looked strangely familiar. The woman had wavy auburn hair and was quite beautiful, but that wasn't what drew their attention. Her eyes, almond-shaped and startlingly blue, were exactly like the boy's, exactly like…

"That was me," Robin said quietly, startling his friends, "before. Before the Titans, before Bru...it was a long time ago."

He wasn't looking at any of them as he talked, but he paced. "My parents," he said with a nod towards the photo to indicate them without further explanation. He hesitated, struggling to figure how to begin. "When I was younger, I had a very different life. Not normal, exactly, but happy. My parents and I made up an act at Haley's Circus known as The Flying Graysons. We were acrobats and it was my whole life for eight years. I was the youngest performer there and they called me The Boy Wonder."

The others watched as Robin stopped pacing and grew quiet, lost in memories that he rarely gave himself time to reflect on.

"Haley's was popular. It drew in all sorts of crowds, even wealthier ones. None of us had ever counted on drawing criminal attention, but they followed the money. I…I was wandering around the tents before the show one night. I passed Mr. Haley's office and I heard voices yelling from inside. I listened from the door to see what was going on. Mr. Haley was screaming at these strangers, something about not paying them a single dime. One of them told him that payment was the only way he could offer the circus protection. I'll never forget what he said: 'It would be wise to employ our services lest some possible mishap befall your performers.' Mr. Haley told them to get the hell of his property before he called the cops. It was three of them who came out of the tent, these two big guys and another. It was obvious the shorter one was in charge. The other two were slinking behind him like obedient dogs."

Robin's whole face turned hard. "I found out later that… _man_ was Anthony Zucco, some low-level crime lord. He saw me when he came out of Mr. Haley's tent— _smiled_ at me."

Starfire saw that Robin's clenched fists were shaking.

"It was late by then, so I ran back to the main tent to get ready for the show. I wanted to tell my parents what I had heard, but there wasn't any time. Next thing I knew, we were walking out to the center ring."

Raven could feel the wretchedness coming off him in waves and she felt sick.

"We climbed the ladder for the high-wire act while the ringmaster riled up the crowd." His eyes were shut tight like he could see everything playing out in his head. "Dad went onto the trapeze first, then mom. They would always do a double-act before I joined in. While I was waiting, for them to come back for me, I heard this grinding noise over my head.

"The wires were breaking. I screamed for them to get back to the platform, reached out for them ages before they were anywhere close. Before they could reach me…the wire snapped…they fell."

Robin's eyes were still shut, but the small part of his face that they could see was contorted, and he seemed to be having trouble breathing normally. Cyborg sat on the edge of the bed with a nauseated expression, unable to hold himself up. Starfire had tears streaming down her face, and Beast Boy and Raven had both turned several shades paler.

"I watched it all from the platform. Hundreds of people saw."

Robin could still hear himself screaming and crying for his mother and father, could hear crowd screaming. He had jumped the last ten rungs of the ladder climbing down and twisted his ankle badly as he landed, but he had kept on running towards the center ring. Some of the other performers had tried to block him from going to his parents, but he tore right through them all, slipping under the strong man's legs and dodging past the lion tamer. There was so much blood, but if he ignored it, they could have been sleeping, lying there together, broken in each other's arms.

"I knew from that moment on that it was my fault. I should have told them what I heard. I should have told them and I didn't and they died."

His voice broke on the last word. He remembered how his arms and torso had become soaked with his parents' blood as he threw himself on top of them, staining his costume an even deeper shade of scarlet. He remembered his hysteria, how he wouldn't let anyone pull him away from their bodies, the deafening anarchy all around the tent with every member of the audience in a frenzy. All except three.

"I saw the three men from Mr. Haley's tent were sitting ringside. They got up, calm as anything…and Zucco smiled at me." Robin opened his eyes at last and his friends saw they burned brightly with unshed tears and venomous hatred. "I lost it. I went after the bastard, but by the time I made it through the crowds, he was long gone."

He could see himself pushing past the countless bodies that crushed against him while they surged towards the exit, blocking his way and making it impossible for him to reach the tent's opening.

"I can't really remember too much right after that. A few days after my parents' funeral, I was sent to live in the juvenile services system. The place was terrible, but I had nowhere else to go. Their deaths were pronounced a tragic accident caused by improper safety precautions."

He gave a hollow laugh, the memory of the moment when he read that in the papers resurfacing along with how he almost broke his hand punching the wall right after. He saw his parents die again every night in his sleep for months.

"I was the only one who knew they were murdered, but no one would believe me. I was just an orphan half-crazy with grief and denial."

Robin plainly hedged on what he had to say next, and without looking directly at any of them, he added quickly, "Not long after that, I took up the Robin mantle."

There was a stretch of horrified silence long after he finished. None of them knew what to say.

Raven lightly tugged the photograph of Robin and his parents from Starfire's limp fingers. She studied their faces more carefully this time, trying to figure something out that had been nagging at her since he pulled out the picture.

When it clicked, she gasped. "Robin, if they…then why would…." She couldn't wrap her head around it.

His only was a shake his head.

Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were utterly confused by the exchange. Beast Boy prodded Raven's leg from his place on the floor for some explanation. She looked down at him dazedly and gestured helplessly to Robin.

"Robin?" Starfire prompted tentatively.

He turned to face them for the first time since calling them into his room. His voice was tight when he spoke again. "Now that you know my parents have been gone all this time, what I'm about to tell you will make no sense. But I saw it, and when Raven came into my mind, she saw it too. In my nightmare, I was tied to a chair. It was pitch dark until a room of glass lit up in front of me, and inside of it were my parents. They were strapped into these…there's no way to explain it other than electrical execution chairs. Someone who I couldn't make out flipped on this switch outside the room and…my parents were being electrocuted. While I had to watch. There was nothing I could do to help them… _again_ …nothing…."

The others sat in a clump together, visibly disturbed. Robin was finding it hard to breathe as the air whistled noisily through his nose. He felt as though walls of the room were bearing down on him and he couldn't take the four pairs of eyes on him anymore, not while he thought about his parents, lying dead on the floor the circus tent with the life snuffed out of their eyes. It was too much like being back there, suffocating as the crowd pressed in on him when all he wanted was to escape from all those burning gazes and be alone with his mom and dad.

He couldn't stay in here another second. Without a word, he escaped out the door.

-T-

The sunrise painted the horizon a bloody tinge as the clouds higher up along the skyline purpled, taking with them the last vestiges of the night.

Robin sat on the ledge of the roof with his legs dangling over the edge. He stared out at the sun without really seeing. He thought about his dream, trying to piece it together. It had been bad enough to witness his parents' murder, but dream of them after all this time, to watch them being tortured to death…it was more than he could handle. Why was it happening?

At least his first dreams had some sense of reality to them. He remembered those now. Oh God, how he remembered them, with surreally graphic clarity. He was more or less re-experiencing the day his parents died just as he had when he was in the orphanage, with a few distorted details. The knife that had appeared so conveniently every once and a while was probably a manifestation of his own death wish during the immediate aftermath of their deaths. He remembered perfectly how he felt, how he still felt, that he should have died along with them. But why, _why_ would he dream of them at all after all these years? What could have drudged it up now? It didn't make any sense.

Robin let out a low sigh and stared down at the rocks below. The roof door creaked on its hinges as it was opened. He turned his head slightly towards the direction of the sound, but his eyes stayed fixed on the sun until he felt a slender, warm hand take one of his.

Starfire's face was somber and full of concern. He climbed down from his spot on the ledge and stood in front of her. Without a word, she pulled him into her arms. Robin felt his eyes sting, but refused to let a single tear drop. Vibrations hummed through his chest as Starfire began to speak with her mouth pressed to it.

"You are not to blame, Robin."

He said nothing.

Starfire knew she couldn't change more than ten years of harbored guilt with a few words, but she had to say it because it was the truth. In time, she hoped he would discover it for himself.

With one of Robin's hands still in hers, she drew away and started inching towards the door. "Come. Cyborg has gone to prepare us all a splendid breakfast." She flashed him a small smile, hoping to elicit one from him.

Robin didn't smile, but he began to shuffle after her. "I'd like that."

They headed back inside with the rising sun to their backs.


	11. Child's Play

The creaking of the floorboard could be heard out in the hall again. It was like clockwork, every few seconds bringing the groan of wood protesting from the weight being put upon it.

Beast Boy's room was closest to the noise. He heard it well into the night, and it was often what woke him up in the morning. Raven and Cyborg would hear it as they passed through the halls.

Starfire, on the other hand, was the only one who could make the creaking stop.

Sometimes, she would just sit outside of Robin's room and listen to his constant pacing, measuring his steps with the squeaking floorboard. Most of the time, though, Starfire couldn't stand it, so she would let herself into his room quietly and sit on his bed. Without a word he would join her, put his head on her lap, and would she stroke his hair until he fell sleep.

Robin had promised he wouldn't shut his friends out this time, and he hadn't. He went about his regular duties, joined the others at dinner, and even kept up their training. All of his free time, however, was spent in his room and that's when the creaking would begin.

So here Starfire was, staring at his bedroom door and wondering just how long ago he had managed to slip away to hole himself up in that godforsaken room when something odd happened. She couldn't place it at first, but something was off. She realized then that the creaking had stopped.

It had stopped without her taking a step inside the room. Intrigued, Starfire moved closer to the door to be sure, wondering what had happened. Could Robin have finally spent all his frustration? Did he leave the room? Had he fallen asleep in sheer exhaustion?

Standing around guessing would get her nowhere, so she gave a light knock before letting herself in, as had become habit. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but she scanned the room. When she could make out shadowy shapes, Starfire noticed a funny-angled one by the desk. Robin.

Making some noise as she walked so as not to sneak up on him, she joined him at the desk. She had Robin's attention when she stepped on the squeaky floorboard.

"Hey."

Starfire answered him with a small smile and pressed her lips against his briefly before pulling away to look him over. He looked back at her almost in a bemused way that was apparent in his eyes.

Lately, Robin had stopped wearing his mask in his room since it was usually just the two of them. She brushed some loose strands of hair away from his forehead in a motherly fashion and scrutinized the rest of his appearance. He gave a quiet laugh and arrested her wrist with his hand and brought it to his lips, giving the back of it a small kiss.

Starfire pretended to scowl and then looked down at the desk to see what had been holding his attention. It was a map of Jump City covered in large red circles and other close scrawl. She returned her gaze to Robin with a questioning glance, but he was poring over the map again, his smile gone.

"What is this for?"

He looked up like he only had just realized she was there and that she had caught him doing something wrong. Quickly, he tried to tuck the map away, but this time it was Starfire's hand that seized Robin's wrist mid-motion. The map fluttered onto the ground.

"I…." he stopped as she turned at look at him fully. Her eyes were calm, but he dangerous spark lurking behind them.

Robin bent to pick up the map and tossed it onto the desk. "I was going to tell you, I swear, I just wasn't ready yet. I wanted to have everything completely planned out."

Starfire nodded warily.

"On the night I…disappeared, I was downtown and on a roof. I know I was about to head north, back in the direction of the tower." He was animated in the glow of finally doing something constructive. "The way I figure it, since my memory still lasts until I reached that district, there's a good chance whatever we're looking for is around there somewhere," he said, pointing to one of the circled portions on the map. "Realistically, if someone was carrying me off, they couldn't have gone very far with my body. It'd be too suspicious and…Starfire?"

She had placed one of her hands across her eyes at those last few words. To hear him speak so casually, so cavalierly about what had been done to him was creating awful images in her head. The scars, the aftereffects, the memory loss, the nightmares; all of it had to come from something truly awful and if she stopped to think about it, it left her shaking with anger.

"Hey," said Robin softly, touching her arm as he tried to look past her fingers into her eyes. "I was just thinking out loud. I didn't mean to upset you."

She jerked her head up, wide but dry-eyed. If Robin was ready to discuss this, she had to be too. "Please, continue."

When he just looked at her, she forced a smile. "Truly, I am fine."

His concerned look lingered as he chose his next words carefully. "I think I've charted a reasonable area for an initial search—"

"A search?" Starfire interrupted with narrowed eyes.

Robin could see the combative expression become more prominent in her face. "This is something I've put a lot of thought into, Starfire. It's not going to be me just running off without any idea of what I'm getting into. I've decided—"

"What happened to the _team_ making these decisions?"

He spoke right over her. "I need to start being more active about this. I can't sit around—"

"You are doing it again. You are recklessly putting yourself into the way of danger—" she continued.

"—and do nothing anymore. I need to understand —"

"—without a single thought for what the rest of us think. Why do you not understand—"

"— what is going on with me, why this happened in the first place, and—"

"—that you do not have to do this alone? We all want to help you, but—"

"Why won't you listen!"

"Why will you not listen!"

They were in each other's faces by now, breathing heavily from what had steadily risen into a shouting match. Starfire glared at Robin with her arms crossed tightly in front of her, but Robin wasn't backing down.

When a tentative knock came from door, neither of them moved to answer it.

"Erm, guys?" came a muffled call. "I was the lucky one voted to come and make sure you two haven't killed each other. Just make some sound so I know you're both still alive in there and I'll be on my way."

Robin was about to give a gruff reply when Starfire headed for the door. Thinking she would take care of Beast Boy and possibly even leave, he turned back to the map on his desk.

Then he heard what Starfire said. "Tell Raven and Cyborg that Robin has something urgent to tell us. We shall gather in the common room."

Robin turned disbelievingly from his desk to see Beast Boy retreating.

Starfire's dark profile was framed in the light from the hall. "If you are to tell them, now is as good a time as any, is it not?"

Her voice was detached and held a hint of triumph. It a tone he'd never heard her use, but it reminded him forcibly that she was a princess on Tamaran and could turn on being haughty and cold quite easily. Without another word, she went off in the direction of the common room.

-T-

Robin was still fuming as he headed for the common room. His friends were already seated on the couch, waiting. Starfire's expression was blank as she looked at him.

"This is a little earlier than I expected to run this idea by you all," he began, shooting her a look that did not go unnoticed by the others, "but I guess it actually works out so I can get on with it faster."

Starfire's hands spasmed in her lap.

"I've been trying to sort out ways to find out what happened when I went missing. What I've come up with is the safest and best way I can think to get leads on the situation. I'm being careful so you don't need to worry about that."

Raven's eyes flicked to Starfire at that while Beast Boy and Cyborg exchanged dark glances.

"I've pinpointed the last place I remember being that night and assessed a small area of the city to search out possible evidence. If I'm lucky, there will be some indications of the culprits or a motive. It's my best shot—"

"Our best shot."

Robin looked up. "What?"

Raven repeated herself. "You mean _our_ best shot, right?"

His silence was their answer.

"Let me get this straight," said Cyborg. "You come in here with a plan to run around the city on your own half-cocked, and you expect us to _agree to it_? Have you lost your mind?"

"Your plan would have a better chance of working if more of us were involved," Beast Boy added heatedly. "What good do you think will come from being on your own? Do you want to be gone for another two weeks?"

Robin was feeling incredibly defensive. He couldn't believe Starfire had let him be cornered like this, and she sat there watching the others gang up on him without saying anything. "I just think—"

"Was thinking even involved in this plan, Robin?" Raven stung. "Because it doesn't sound like it to me."

"That's not fair. Of course I—"

"Obviously Starfire feels the same way we do," Beast Boy spluttered. "She wouldn't have said anything to us if she didn't."

"Starfire doesn't know what the hell she's talking about!"

They were stunned into silence.

"You think I do not understand?" Starfire stood from the couch, her eyes burning. "I understand more than you give me credit for. That is why I am attempting to keep you from endangering yourself further."

"This is something I need to do. Can't you understand that?"

"I am not trying to stop you. I only want you to let us assist."

Robin turned from her stiffly. "No."

The white of her complexion was now dying into a reddish tinge. "Why? What reasons do you have to keep us from going with you?"

"Because," he said, his voice quiet, shaking.

"That is not acceptable! Why, Robin?"

He practically shouted his answer. "Because I don't want any of you getting hurt!"

She took several strides closer to him. "And what about you?"

"I can handle it," he said coolly.

"As can we!" she rejoined passionately.

"There's no need to risk it. Why put more of us in harm's way if only one can get the job done?"

Starfire was becoming inarticulate with frustration, almost choking on her words. "Because that is what we do! The Titans are a team; we work together. Let us help. Let me help when I am able!"

Robin's hard expression softened a little. "I can't risk it. I can't lose anyone else. I'm not strong enough. You can't ask me to go through that again."

"But you can ask it of us? Robin, I have been almost useless through this whole ordeal. I was not there to help you when you were abducted. I could not find you while you were hidden from us. I have not been able to ease your troubles since you have returned to us. And now, now that there is finally something I can do to help, you will deny me the chance?" A sob ripped from her throat.

"Don't," Robin said, closing the last few steps between them and pulling her to his chest. "Starfire, don't."

She threw her arms around his neck and only cried harder. "I am sorry we could not find you. I am so sorry."

"What are you talking about? You've got nothing to apologize…" He trailed off as she began to shake her head.

"If I had looked harder, I could have found you and prevented all this—"

"Starfire." Robin shook her a little. "There's nothing you could have done that I'm sure you and the others didn't do. None of this is your fault."

She only gave a great sniff and pressed her forehead against his chest again.

Cyborg cleared his throat. "So what are we going to do?"

Robin paused before answering. "Starfire is going to help me start the search tomorrow night."

-T-

Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg hadn't been able to convince Robin to allow more of them to go along. He was insistent that they needed to keep themselves available to watch over the city. They couldn't leave Jump City defenseless because of a personal matter.

Although skeptical that the abduction of a superhero could be considered a 'personal matter,' they let it go for now at least since he had Starfire. They had also made him promise that if the two of them didn't find anything tonight, three of them would start going on rotation to help.

Robin and Starfire planned to start by checking out a good portion of the buildings in the boundaries of the downtown area. They also intended to keep an eye out on the community around that district for any suspicious activity.

A few hours before they were due to begin, Starfire and Raven were sitting quietly on Raven's bed.

Starfire was nervous about tonight, but she was prepared to do anything for him. She only hoped that the search would uncover something. Robin had put so much into this, was so desperate for answers.

Raven was thinking about tonight too, but her main train of thought was on something altogether different. Beast Boy. She had been so close to kissing him the other night; she remembered the feel of his breath on her lips before they had to pull apart.

Never in her life had Raven ever expected to feel so drawn to Beast Boy. He was a pest, immature, inappropriate. Although she realized that was less and less true lately. He had grown up quite a bit in the last few months. He would always be silly, a little ridiculous, but there was something…charming about that.

But ever since their interrupted almost-kiss, the two of them had barely spoken a word to each other. Raven was embarrassed; she had initiated it. Still, it was strange for Beast Boy said nothing about it. He wasn't exactly the discreet sort to begin with, but this was something else entirely. If the two of them were ever alone by chance, he would leave. In front of the rest of the team, they said little to nothing to each other, but since it hadn't affected their crime-fighting she was sure no one had noticed.

Raven started to believe that Beast Boy might actually have been relieved that Robin's outburst had stopped her before anything could happen. The thought put her stomach in knots.

"Is there something you wish to speak of, Raven?"

She jumped as Starfire broke into her thoughts. For a split second, she seriously considered spilling everything, but then decided that she to talk to Beast Boy first. "No."

Starfire nodded. "It is nearly time to leave. I must go prepare." Just before stepping out into the hall, she twisted back around with a glint in her eyes. "I am certain if you talk to Beast Boy, whatever has happened between the two of you can be resolved."

Raven's cheeks went pink. Starfire was far more perceptive than she had ever realized.

-T-

The Titans had gathered on the roof to see Robin and Starfire off. Robin couldn't help but think they were making too much of it, but he let them carry on since he was ultimately getting his way.

"Have your comlinks on at all times," Cyborg said in a tone that left no room for argument. "If anything happens that seems strange—and I mean _anything_ —contact us immediately."

"I'll be doing a mind sweep of the city periodically to make sure you two are still traceable even if the communicators get jammed," Raven told them.

"Which they won't." It was like Cyborg was warning the tech not to fail him again.

Beast Boy sidled up to them. "Just be careful, okay?"

Robin nodded, but Starfire answered for them both. "We will be."

Then she leapt from the roof with Robin tight in her grasp and flew towards the city.

-T-

Cyborg was staring hard at the T-Communicator as he sat on the couch.

"It's only been a few hours, you know."

Raven absently stirred her tepid tea by the counter. She glanced at the back of Beast Boy's head as he flipped through the television channels again.

Aside from her occasional announcement of being able to sense Robin and Starfire, this was the first time any of them had spoken since they left.

"I know. Can I help it if I'm edgy?"

"Point taken." She got up to empty her half-finished tea in the sink, then refilled the teapot with water.

Snatching up the comlink, Cyborg rose from the couch as the teapot began to whistle. "I can't take waiting up like this. I'm going to bed. The security alarms and everything will be connected to my systems in case…well just in case. See you in the morning."

He strode out of the room, and Raven and Beast Boy were alone. Her heart picked up the pace. Should she say something to him now, or would it be better for the both of them if they kept pretending nothing had ever happened?

Just as she had made up her mind to talk, Beast Boy switched off the television and stood up. "'Night."

The doors slid closed, and Raven could feel the telltale prickle behind her eyes. What a mistake it had been to let her feelings get the better of her. She had never trusted emotions before; what made her think it would be any different now? It was clear Beast Boy felt nothing for her, not in the same way she was beginning to feel for him. How she could have thought it otherwise made her cheeks burn.

She dumped her fresh cup of tea down the drain.

-T-

Dejected, Robin carefully slipped out from the condemned building he had been exploring. Searching here had been a complete waste of time so far. There wasn't a shred of evidence to show for the hours they had been in the area and it was getting late.

Starfire was just behind him, and she began replacing the boards she ripped off the window frame with quick jabs from her palm to re-nail them. When she finished, she looked around to see where Robin had gotten to. He was deeper in the alley, looking up uncertainly.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I think it was here."

"What was, Robin?"

"I think this is where they took me from."

She glanced around distrustfully.

They flew up to the rooftops. Robin inspected every inch of the place, taking in the layout of the fire escape and the gaps between the buildings, but there was not a thing to be found. The trail was cold.

Tired and aggravated, he slammed his fist against the ledge he had been leaning on and sat to rest his weary body. Starfire walked over to join him, taking his hand in hers and gripping it firmly.

"We will find something. Perhaps not this night, but we will."

Robin struggled to give her a smile and got to his feet. "Let's go home."

No sooner had the words had left his lips than a blaring alarm cut through the air. Sprinting over to the opposite end of the roof, Robin looked to the streets. Half a block over, shattered glass littered the sidewalk outside a jewelry store.

Starfire was already speeding towards the shop, a starbolt encasing each fist. Robin pulled out the grappling hook and rappelled down the building. There were birdarangs between his spread fingers, but by the time he almost reached the front of the store, Stafire's starbolts had flickered out. She stood looking into the shattered window-front with shock plastered on her face, and when she saw Robin approach with weapons, she held up her hands to stop him.

"What's wrong?"

She still looked stunned as she answered him. "I believe it is a child."

"What?" Robin replaced his birdarangs in their holsters and went cautiously to look inside. From the light of the street lamps, he could see a small figure busting into the glass counters and grabbing everything inside.

"Freeze," Robin called out.

As the figure in the store whipped around, the lamplight threw their face into relief. A small, dark-haired, wide-eyed girl stood before him with a brick in one hand and a paper bag full of jewelry in the other.

It _was_ a child.

"What…what are you doing?" he croaked.

"What does it look like?" the girl said bitterly. She looked frightened, but defiant. A few lines of blood ran down her arms where the jagged edges from the glass had cut her.

Starfire took a few steps forward and spoke gently. "How old are you?"

The girl looked as if she wasn't going to answer, but then seemed to think better of it. "Eleven."

The store's security alarm was joined by sirens a few blocks away, growing louder every second. The police were on their way.

"Where are your parents?"

This was obviously not the right thing to say. The girl's face puckered up horribly like she was trying not to cry. "None of your business!" she spat. And then she did start to cry

Robin's head was reeling. Starfire tried to draw closer to the girl as if to comfort her, but stopped when she half-shouted, half-sobbed, "Don't come any closer!"

They didn't know what to do. Two police cars pulled up from behind and Robin ran to the nearest car, feeling like he had to explain on her behalf.

"Listen, you can't take this robber into custody. It's a kid, a little girl," he gestured to the broken window. Starfire must have somehow coaxed her into coming out; she was on the street, holding her hand and looking very afraid. "We're not sure where her parents are. I think they might have passed away. She's only eleven," he summed up, out of breath and not entirely sure he hadn't been babbling.

"Another one?" said the officer.

This was not the response Robin was expecting. He watched the policeman exchange a troubled look with his partner.

"This has happened before?"

"This is the ninth one in the last few months. None of them with guardians either. I just don't understand it."

"The ninth?" Starfire had come up from behind. "What will become of her?"

"We've been turning them over to social services to keep them out of trouble until good foster homes are found for them."

Robin mind flashed to his own dreadful experiences at the orphanage. He felt Starfire put a hand on his shoulder as if to steady them both.

The policeman looked between them. "I don't think we need to bother you Titans with this just yet, but if we do, we know where to find you."

Hardly knowing what he was agreeing to, Robin numbly nodded and watched as the officer loaded the girl into the backseat of one of the cruisers and drove off. He turned to a pale-faced Starfire.

"We should head back to the Tower."

The two of them made their way home with even more unanswered questions then they had set out with.


	12. Something There

Robin and Starfire were exhausted, their heads buzzing as they reached the tower. They stood on the roof grasping hands, the warmth between them their only sense of reality.

"We—" her voice cracked, but she cleared her throat and began again. "We must tell our friends of this in the morning."

He nodded wearily, tugging her towards the door. In the common room, Starfire gently pulled her hand from his and went to the sink for a glass of water. The sight of a white hand draped over the arm of the couch drew Robin's attention.

Raven was sleeping there, looking very much like she had drifted over to one side after falling asleep sitting up. Her lips were twisted into a small frown. Starfire walked to the back of the couch and her face took on an oddly empathetic look.

"Should we leave her here?" he whispered.

She shook her head. "It cannot be comfortable. Besides, she will most likely wish to know we have returned if she has stayed here." She didn't mention to him that there was probably another reason Raven was alone here.

Starfire prodded Raven softly, and she stirred.

"You're back. Find anything?"

"We'll talk about it in the morning."

"Later this morning, you mean," Raven said with a glance out the window at the slowly rising sun.

Robin gave her a small smile and absently patted her hand. Giving Starfire a quick kiss at her temple, he left the common room for bed.

Alone with Raven, Starfire studied her more carefully as she sat up stiffly and stretched a bit. "Is all well?"

She stood up, tried to sound casual, but her eyes betrayed her. "The same as before." She paused. "I don't think he…I was wrong. It was a mistake."

Starfire was still unsure about the details of what had happened between Beast Boy and Raven, but she had seen enough to know _something_ had happened. "Do not give up so easily."

Then she left to seek the fleeting comfort offered by pillows and sheets.

-T-

Raven lay on her bed, staring at her ceiling.

_How could I be this stupid? I misinterpreted everything. I've only myself to blame, hurt by figments of my own imagination. Pathetic, that's what it is. Simply pathetic. The minute someone shows me an inkling of kindness, I pounce on it. He's only ever acted with friendship towards me, nothing else. I guess I wanted to see more._

She rolled over onto her side to see if she could get into a more comfortable position.

_But that can't be right._

Her mind drifted back, lingering on how Beast Boy hugged her that night after Robin's accident on the bridge, how she had been so close to kissing him after he told her about his family, how, for a fraction of a second, he had seemed to want the same thing she now realized she wanted from him. She had _felt_ it.

At the same time, she thought about the two times she had let herself read Beast Boy's emotions since that night. His feelings were a mess and she couldn't pick out the focus of each individual emotion, but there was one that she had sensed both times that made her gut wrench. Shame. That was what made her really crumble.

 _Am I that…?_ She couldn't even finish the question. Her face burned more fiercely. _I'm no Terra,_ she told herself bluntly.

-T-

"We left her there for the authorities to deal with because we just didn't know what to do." Robin licked his lips as he finished.

He and Starfire sat on the edge of the coffee table to face the others. There was a moment of stillness as they processed the events of last night.

"Do the words 'if anything strange happens, contact us immediately' mean nothing to you people?" finally exploded from Cyborg.

"We were taken unawares and it all happened so quickly. We had assumed it to be a routine theft, and by the time we discovered otherwise…" Starfire trailed off apologetically.

He only harrumphed, seeming mollified, if not satisfied, with that answer.

"So," Raven asked, looking tired, "is this something we need to concern ourselves with?"

"I don't know," Robin admitted.

"First thing's first," Cyborg said. "We should keep looking for evidence on your case. Though it won't hurt to keep an eye out on this new situation at the same time," he conceded, then gave a grim smile. "Another one of us gets to tag along for the search starting tonight. I volunteer."

Starfire felt Robin stiffen slightly, but he only nodded.

"I'll come too."

It was the first thing Beast Boy had said all morning.

"No," Robin told him firmly. "I said _one_ more of you could come each time. We need to remember our commitment to the city. So many of us can't be focused on a personal case. You'll stay here with Raven."

Beast Boy stared at his hands in his lap, his face unreadable. In one fluid movement, Raven rose from her seat and retreated from the room. No one but Starfire had noticed her making for the door until they heard it sliding open, and by that time she was gone.

Cyborg called after her. "What the—? Raven?"

"Is that everything?" Beast Boy said suddenly.

"Er, yes, but—" Robin started.

"Good." With that, Beast Boy left.

Cyborg stared blankly at the common room door. "Did I miss something?"

Robin gave a helpless shrug.

Looking between the pair of them with exasperation, Starfire headed into the kitchen. They could have sworn that as she washed out Raven's abandoned cup of tea, they heard her mutter 'boys' under her breath.

-T-

Robin decided to train before it was time to go into the city to search again. It had felt like ages since he last properly devoted time to combat drills. Getting back to his old habits felt good, normal.

He started by running through exercises with his bo staff, his mind began to wander. He twirled the staff in his right hand before tossing it into his left and using it to pole vault himself over the dummy bolted to the floor. Gripping the staff with both hands towards the bottom he struck the side of the dummy's head where it resounded with a smack.

 _God, if Bruce could see how easy I've been going on myself with training lately…_ Thinking about Bruce made him what else his old mentor would say if he knew about everything that had happened over the last few months.

Smack.

_If any of this happened in Gotham, he'd have me locked up in the damn mansion and banned from defending the city._

Smack. Smack.

_And if he ever found out about Starfire, he'd go berserk that I allowed myself such an 'exploitable weakness,' let alone that it's a teammate. Oh, and forget about staying in Jump City. It's like I'm still eight years old to him…_

A cough broke into his thoughts. Robin whipped around to find Cyborg.

"You know, it's not exactly fair to be so rough when the thing can't fight back."

"Huh?"

Cyborg pointed to the dummy. It had a huge rip in its head and was leaking stuffing.

"You all right?"

Robin grunted, embarrassed for losing his self-control.

"Right," said Cyborg. "Need a new sparring buddy? Looks like your old one is indisposed."

"Let's see what you can do."

-T-

Starfire knocked gently on Raven's door. "Raven? It is Starfire. Please, may I come in?"

The door went black with dark energy and slid open. Starfire stepped into the room where a single candle on the vanity gave off a soft light.

Raven sat on the edge of her bed, an odd look on her face. "He hates me," she blurted out in a dead whisper.

Starfire rushed to the bed and clasped Raven's hands in her own. "Beast Boy could never hate you."

Raven was suddenly a fountain of words and tears. She was disgusted with herself lack of control over her emotions lately, but there it was.

"Oh, Raven," Starfire breathed when she had told her everything, "you must talk to him."

Raven gave a hollow laugh.

"I mean it!" she said vehemently, shaking Raven's hands a little to capture her attention more forcefully. "Regret is a terrible thing, and you should not invite it so readily. This cannot be ignored." She cracked a faint smile. "And Robin and Cyborg are beginning to suspect that something is not right with you and Beast Boy."

She snorted a little at that. There was a new knock at the door. "Yes?"

"It's me, Raven," came Robin's voice. "Is Starfire with you?"

Raven raised her cowl to shadow her red-rimmed eyes before letting him in.

"It's almost time to go. You ready?"

Starfire nodded and rose to her feet. Before leaving the room, she gave Raven a significant look. Raven slowly began to follow, feeling like tonight was going to be a disaster.

-T-

Cyborg was doing last minute checks to make sure he was fully charged and his tech was all functioning properly before heading out into the city with Starfire and Robin. Just as he finished his last self-scan, the common room door slid open.

Beast Boy walked in, looking very much like a lost puppy as he shuffled towards the couch. Cyborg eyed him, but Beast Boy didn't even seem notice he wasn't alone.

"Earth to the little green man."

He jumped. "Holy crap, Cyborg! Don't _do_ that."

"What's with you lately?"

"What?" Beast Boy answered a little too quickly and airily. "Nothing."

"Yeah, I can see that," Cyborg deadpanned. "Let me be more specific: what's with you _and_ Raven lately?"

Beast Boy wouldn't look at him, but he saw the tips of his ears start to go red.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Cyborg gave him a hard stare. There wasn't time to press the issue right now, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something going on. Maybe Raven and Beast Boy had fought? When Beast Boy was ready to talk, he would be here.

Or tomorrow he would just have to force him to spill it. Whichever came first.

The common room door opened again, this time letting in Robin, Starfire, and Raven. Cyborg studied Raven as she passed, but with her cowl up he couldn't tell much of anything. Forcing her to talk would be trickier, but he was determined. He wouldn't let his friends become estranged as long as he was around to do something about it.

"Ready?" Robin asked.

"For the past ten minutes."

"Okay." Robin turned to Raven and Beast Boy, who were standing as far apart from each other as possible. "Call us if anything happens that you two can't handle."

As he stepped out the door, Cyborg gave a backwards glance. Raven was still standing where they had left her, and he saw Beast Boy's back disappearing through the opposite doorway, probably to his room.

_Yeah, there is definitely something going on here._

-T-

Raven held the teacup to her lips without drinking as she sat on the couch.

Beast Boy had holed up in his room the second the others had left the tower. She had expected it, but that didn't make it any less painful. He apparently couldn't stand the sight of her.

She bit her lower lip as it began to tremble. Raven had never worn her heart on her sleeve, she had never had the luxury, but it was like she was making up for all the lost time she hadn't been allowed to express her feelings. Even with meditation, she couldn't seem to get herself in check and she was at a loss

The alarm rent the air.

 _Of course_.

As Raven pulled up the map of the city on the screen, Beast Boy came flying in.

"What's happening?"

She tried to tamp down on the hurt that welled inside her that these were the first words he'd spoke directly to her in weeks.

"An armored car that was heading to make a deposit delivery at the bank is being held up. It's at 7th and Winter."

He spun on his heel and was already halfway across the room by the time Raven gathered her cloak around her and followed him up onto the roof.

-T-

Once they arrived on the city's outskirts, Raven scanned the darkened intersection. The armored car was half on the sidewalk and smashed into a flickering lamppost, but other than that, the place looked deserted. She touched down close by to the vehicle's smoking front, casting her eyes around warily, and Beast Boy landed beside her.

Without a sound, she put her finger to her lips and gestured for him to approach the car from the opposite side of where she was heading. He nodded and morphed into a cat, creeping silently in the direction she had pointed.

Raven edged towards the right and a pair of legs came into sight. Quickening her pace, she came upon a security guard slumped against the car door. He was unconscious, and his sleeves were pinned to the car with something she couldn't identify in the dim light.

She checked for a pulse before looking for other victims. Bending to check the other side of the vehicle, she saw another prone body, but there was no telltale green flash of Beast Boy anywhere near it.

"Really, there's no need for the funeral behavior."

Raven spun out of her crouch to face the voice, her hands encased in black magic and her eyes glowing white. There was a hissing yowl and she saw a green cat by the car's back doors. The hair on Beast Boy's arched back was standing up on end.

Lounging on the roof of the car was a woman. Her head was propped up carelessly on her hand and one leg was crooked in a provocative pose. Jet black hair pooled around her face like dark curtains, setting off her magenta leather bodysuit. Her smirking lips were painted the same color.

The woman spoke in her low, smooth voice again. "Nobody's dead. Yet."

"Who are you?" asked Raven.

She was fast, of that much Raven was sure. Fast and stealthy. She had crept up onto the car's roof while Raven was right next to it because that woman had definitely not been there the entire time.

"Blade. How about you, sugar? And kitty—? Ah, so not a kitty!"

Raven turned to face Beast Boy, who had transformed back into his human form.

"No," he said, unamused, "not a kitty."

Focusing on the woman again, she noticed the lamppost's guttering light catch and reflect on something bright near the bottom of her bent leg. A circlet of daggers was hanging on a strap around the woman's calf.

"When making introductions, it's polite to share the same information you've asked." Her smile was starting to slip. "What are sugar and kitty's names?"

They refused to play along.

"Tsk, tsk, such bad manners. I'm losing my naturally amiable disposition …and you won't like me when that happens."

"That works out," Raven said darkly. She was in no mood for games. "I don't like you now. Sticky fingers aren't exactly a quality I look for in a friend."

Blade's eyes narrowed.

It was then Beast Boy noticed the ring of daggers. "Who robs an armored car with just a few knives?"

"Someone with good aim," Blade snapped. Her hand was a blur as she whipped her hand to the belt of daggers, pulled one loose, and threw it squarely towards Raven's chest.

It happened in matter of seconds, but Raven was ready for it. As the knife corkscrewed through the air, she summoned her power to create a shield.

All of a sudden, Beast Boy was in front of her and the shield that was midway formed. She didn't see the knife go in, but she didn't have to. The scream that ripped from his throat was proof enough that it had made its mark. He fell to the ground at Raven's feet.

Blade's other daggers were whistling through the air right behind the first. The dying lamppost's light finally sputtered out, leaving the street in almost complete obscurity.

Raven's brain went into overload. Clenching her hands to break her first shield, she brought her palms back up to form another, this time with Beast Boy inside. She could hear the dull thunks of knives crashing into it. Blind with rage, she phased out of the shield, but left Beast Boy inside. Flying up parallel with the car's roof, she faced a very stunned, very frightened Blade. She was sure the normally white glow of her eyes was flickering red.

Lifting Blade up by the throat, Raven snarled, "It's Raven, by the way."

She tightened her grip, and Blade gasped for air, scrabbling frantically, uselessly, at the back of har iron hand. Raven came to herself before it was too late. She relaxed the hand around her throat and let Blade fall back onto the car with a crash.

She could hear the wail of sirens. Raven motioned towards the hood of the car, and a flick of her hand brought the dented lamppost to wrap around Blade's body and pin her down to the armored car. The police could take it from here.

She flew back to her shield and made it disperse. Falling to her knees, she stretched out a hand to Beast Boy, who she couldn't see very well in this light. She touched something warm and wet.

"Beast Boy?"

He didn't answer.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

The black raven brought them back to the tower and deposited them in Raven's room. She had wanted to go to Beast Boy's room at first, but then though better of it when she pictured the clutter and trying to maneuver around that mess. As for taking him to med bay, she was steeling herself that it wasn't that bad.

Levitating him onto her bed, she swept her hand upward to turn on the ceiling light; in the midst of her wild panic, it occurred to her that she had never even used before now. She looked at Beast Boy directly for the first time since he was hit.

"Shit."

The dagger was buried to the hilt just under his left ribcage and there was blood all along the side of his costume. His face was a pasty green, and though his eyes weren't closed all the way, she didn't think he was coherent. Bracing herself, she clenched the knife handle and yanked it out. He groaned and his body gave a little jolt before his eyes fell shut completely. Raven let the knife slip from her grasp and clatter to the ground as she pressed her hands to the dagger's entry point to both staunch the bleeding and heal the wound.

"Idiot." She found that she was saying the word over and over long after she began. "Idiot. You idiot. You are such an _idiot_."

She finished healing the gash and triple-checked that no major organs had been hit. Satisfied that Beast Boy muscle and skin were knit back together, she took a few steps back and pushed her hood off her sweat-beaded forehead.

Beast Boy inhaled a shuddering breath and his eyes snapped open. He sat up gingerly, feeling his chest where the knife had pierced him as he did. His face twisted into a slight grimace. "Well, that was—"

"Damn it, Beast Boy!" Raven was livid, inordinately livid, and a horrible skew of other feelings that she couldn't keep a lid on anymore. And suddenly she found herself screaming at him. "What the hell is the matter with you? Where is your brain? I could have deflected the stupid dagger, but you just had to act the hero and leap in front of it like a complete ass. Do I look like I need someone to save me? Remember the 'creepy' powers I have? They tend to be useful for dangerous situations like that one! Why didn't you just leave me alone? You've been doing a good enough job of it for the last couple of weeks." The last part came out a little strangled, but the defiant undertone was still there.

He stood from the bed and stared at her. His voice was unnaturally quiet. "I took a knife for you."

"I never asked you to!"

"You don't have to!" Beast Boy's tone broke its eerie calm and rose to a passionate yell, his chest heaving like he'd just run a mile.

She held her head in her hands. "Why do you keep saying things like that? Do you think this is a game? That it's funny?"

"What are you talking about?" he looked almost manic. "I've been giving you space ever since I told you everything that night in Robin's room because I knew you were disgusted by it. By me. I was letting you off the hook by ignoring what happened after because I wanted to give _you_ the choice to do the same, and I knew you would take it once you thought everything through. The past few weeks have shown that you obviously made that choice! You think this has been easy for me? I lov—" he froze.

Raven couldn't understand what she was hearing. It was too much. "Are you kidding? Because if this is a joke, you have to tell me right now."

Beast Boy let out a bitter laugh. "I'd never joke about this, Raven."

And she knew right then that he was telling the truth. Without another moment's hesitation, she closed the little space the separated her from Beast Boy with a few steps, threw her arms around his neck, and crashed her lips against his. He was stunned for a second, but once he realized what was happening, he responded with enthusiastically, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

Raven broke their kiss. "You really are an idiot," she said looking him right in the eyes. "There isn't anything you've told me about your past that I would hold against you. I told you that night there was nothing you could've done for your parents. It's wasn't your fault, and you need to believe me when I say that. Trust me."

She leaned forward to pick up where they left off but, Beast Boy moved back as she did, a confused look clouding his face. "So why didn't you say anything?"

Raven looked at his shoulder instead of his eyes now. "I thought you regretted almost kissing me. I made the first move, so I figured I had made a mistake believing you wanted— _mph_."

He cut off her sentence by pressing his mouth to hers.

"I believe," he said with a teasing smirk, "that we have to share that idiot title you've been throwing around."

"Shut up."

"Gladly." He caught her lips again.

Neither of them heard the persistent buzzing of the abandoned comlink from Raven's floor.

_"What in the—?"_

Raven and Beast Boy wrenched apart at the sound of Cyborg's voice coming from the ground. They looked down and found him staring back from the comlink screen, which he had overridden to turn on when they did not answer, with an open mouth.

Beast Boy coughed and laughed nervously. "Hi?"

Cyborg kept looking between them, lost for words.

"Did you guys find something?" asked Raven, raising her cowl. She was determined to act natural, even if underneath her hood she was a shade of red that Crayola would have killed to recreate.

"Uh, yes, yeah, we did," he spluttered. "I'm sending coordinates. Meet us there. Uh, yeah…"

The connection closed and they were quiet for a second.

"So I was thinking we should maybe tell the others about this as soon as possible. I mean, it would be so awkward if one of them suddenly found us in a less-than-platonic situation at some point."

Raven burst out laughing, something which she noticed made him seem ridiculously pleased. "We need to go."

He immediately reached for her hand and she closed her eyes, summoning her magic. Right before they phased through space, she couldn't help but notice how nice it felt to have Beast Boy holding her hand.


	13. Leo

Cyborg continued to stare at his arm console long after he shut it with an expression like he'd just been doused with a bucket of ice water. He just saw two of his friends kissing, and not Robin and Starfire. _Raven and Beast Boy._ He dimly wondered if all the tech implanted in his body had short-circuited and fried his brain.

"Cyborg?"

He turned to Starfire without bothering to mask the bewilderment plastered on his face.

"Is there something wrong with Raven or Beast Boy?" she asked in a concerned tone. Her attention had been occupied with what the three of them had just found—the same reason they had called Raven and Beast Boy to join them—so she missed the conversation Cyborg had with their friends, but his behavior was worrying her.

"If there is…going to rip BB limb from limb—I mean no! Not really…"

Starfire raised an eyebrow. "Were either of them injured in battle?"

"No," he said right away, but screwing up his eyes, he remembered something other than the sight of Beast Boy clinging to Raven. "Actually, Beast Boy's costume might have been a little bloody, but I'm not sure what happened."

"Not sure?" she echoed. "They did not tell you?"

Cyborg squirmed as he tried to think of what to say. He wasn't too anxious for Beast Boy seeing that he was well enough to make-out with Raven. "They were a little…busy," he said lamely.

Starfire, while still looking faintly worried, said nothing, but he noticed her eyes flash with something that suggested she knew more about what had been going on between their friends than he had until a minute ago. As soon as this whole thing with Robin was over, the three of them had a lot of explaining to do.

For some reason, Cyborg couldn't squelch the urge to kick Beast Boy's ass. He knew Beast Boy, knew he'd had a thing for Raven for a while. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if he was taking advantage of how sad she'd ben lately. What if the uneasiness he'd noticed between them was because Beast Boy had been pestering Raven to do something she wasn't comfortable with? Raven was like Cyborg's little sister, and though Beast Boy was like a brother to him too, he would in no way hesitate to kick the little booger to Timbuktu if he had to. He'd feel much better once all this was out in the open.

A black pool of energy appeared on the ground a few feet away, and Cyborg stared, waiting for his friends to step out and waiting even more impatiently for the moment when he could talk to Beast Boy about exactly what he thought he was doing.

-T-

Beast Boy couldn't decide exactly what was making his stomach do somersaults. It could have been the fact that barely twenty minutes ago, he'd been stabbed and was still weak from losing so much blood. Being teleported by magic also seemed like a viable explanation. However, he thought the most likely reason of all was that he'd finally admitted his feelings to Raven, and, more importantly, she returned them. Of course, blood loss and traveling through space could still factor into it slightly.

But Raven liked him. He wasn't just her stupid little teammate pining away with unrequited puppy-love anymore. They had _kissed_. She was holding his hand—it didn't matter to him that it was so she didn't lose him in another dimension.

Beast Boy thought he would bust with excitement when she actually laughed out loud at something he said, and not because he'd made himself look like an idiot, but because she had found it funny. If he could spend the rest of his life trying to make her laugh like that, he knew he could die happy.

He shook himself slightly, trying not to get too carried away. One step at a time. He'd known for a long time that he wanted to be more than friends with Raven, but it wasn't until recently that he found his feelings ran deeper than even he knew. Beast Boy hoped against his own better judgment that Raven hadn't caught his near slip of the word 'love.' He didn't want to scare her off, or worse, make her believe that he was saying it too quickly without meaning it. He did mean it, with his whole heart, and if he had to dedicate his entire life to proving it to her—when he wasn't trying to make her laugh, that is—he would.

Curling his fingers more firmly around hers, Beast Boy braced himself as he saw the portal begin to thin out and saw the shadowy downtown alley Cyborg had indicated _._

His stomach gave another uncomfortable flip. Remembering how Cyborg had found him with Raven checked his happiness a little. He was shocked, but Beast Boy had expected that. It was the suspicion on his best friend's face that hurt him, even made him a little angry. Cyborg knew all too well that he'd had a crush on Raven forever. He knew he'd have to set the record straight as soon as they had the chance, something which promised to be less than fun even if Cyborg could restrain himself from slugging him on an impulse.

Beast Boy's head was spinning slightly by the time his feet touched solid ground.

He saw a muscle jump in Cyborg's clenched jaw as he gave a quick glance at his and Raven's clasped hands. She must have noticed too; she had dropped Beast Boy's fingers and wrapped her cloak around herself as if it was cold out.

Cyborg eyed the bloody tear in Beast Boy's costume with concern next. "What happened to you?"

"Psycho, knife-wielding robber. You know, the usual."

He just looked at him.

"Don't worry," said Beast Boy. "Raven patched me up good as…" He halted awkwardly.

Cyborg knew exactly how well Raven had healed him, catching them in the immediate aftermath and all. Embarrassment was thick in the air.

Raven edged carefully past the elephant in the alley. "So what did you find? Where are Robin and Starfire?"

Cyborg roused himself and gestured for them to follow him. "This way."

He led them deeper into the alley and around a corner into a connecting side-street. Beast Boy could see Starfire and Robin at the dead end. They were bending over something blocked from his view next to the dumpster.

Robin's head snapped up as they approached, and he turned his back on whatever had been holding his attention. "Thanks for coming so fast." His voice sounded a little strained.

Starfire finally straightened up as well, but she hovered close to the dumpster and, whether intentionally or not, shielded anything of interest as far as Beast Boy could tell.

"What—?" Raven began, but cut herself short, her eyes riveted on something by Starfire's hip.

He followed her gaze and started. There was a little boy peeking out at them. Starfire gently nudged the boy in front of her. Everyone stared like they had never seen a child before. The boy seemed scared stiff. Beast Boy took in the smudges of dirt on his face, the matted tangle of his red curls, the deep rips in his clothes; he looked as if he had been outside for a few days, at least. He couldn't have been more than eight.

"This is Leo," said Cyborg.

Leo shivered a little and Starfire drew him closer to her side. "Leo seeks our help. He has asked to speak to all of us together, and we agreed to wait until you had arrived." She gave Beast Boy and Raven a significant look before adding in a low voice, "We believe this may have something to do with last night."

Beast Boy had thought as much. The child jewel-thief had been the first thing that jumped to mind as soon as he saw the boy.

Robin knelt down so he could be eye with Leo. "Tell us what happened. You can trust us." The rough quality of his tone had smoothed away, there was a softness in it that Beast Boy had never heard before.

Leo looked frightened, even doubtful as he stared back, but he seemed to draw a bit of faith from his words and nodded like he was convincing himself. "I think you're the only ones who can help me."

"We will, I promise."

He took in a little gasp of air and began to speak in a quivery voice. "Me, my mom, and my dad went out for pizza and a movie three days ago. I know it was three because that's how many times I had to sleep outside."

Raven went a bit unsteady on her feet and Beast Boy placed a hand at her back.

"I fell asleep during the movie, so we left before it was done. We walked down the block to get back to our car, and dad was carrying me because I was tired. It was real late; there was almost nobody outside. When we got to the parking lot, these bright lights from a car turned on behind us. I heard the doors opening and people getting out to come up to us. Dad stopped and told them that he would give them money if that's what they wanted, but not to hurt us. He said that me and mom were with him, so he didn't want any trouble."

Leo seemed to be struggling to remember as much as he could, anything that might be important. "Then there was lots of yelling. Somebody took me from dad and pressed something behind my head. I think it was a gun. This other guy punched my dad in his stomach and held his arms behind his back to stop him from trying to get me. Mom was crying and screaming for them to let me go and leave us alone. The man holding me told them to shut up and get in the car or else. He dragged me to their car and made me sit me with him in the front seat. My parents got in too. Somebody covered my eyes with a jacket and I think they did that to my mom and dad too."

Beast Boy was having a hard time concentrating. He felt the hand he had at Raven's back shaking with anger. Obviously the abduction was planned in advance. They singled out the family, waited until they were alone, and cornered them in the garage. They were ready with weapons and blackmailed the parents with the life of their child as easily as snapping your fingers. They were even cautious enough to blindfold their captives so they couldn't see where they were being taken.

"Did you know these people?" asked Robin, rigidity creeping back into his voice.

Leo shook his head hesitantly.

"Are you sure?"

"I…I don't know. They were wearing masks."

Cyborg gently prompted, "Then what happened?"

Leo gave him a jittery glance. He didn't look like he wanted to keep going.

Starfire put a hand on his arm and he turned to face her. "Please," was all she said.

He took another shuddering breath. "We drove for a long time. When we stopped, they made me get out with them. They took the jacket off my head and we were inside this dark, big place. There were big boxes and ropes everywhere, and when I looked out the window, I could see the water."

 _The docks,_ Beast Boy instantly thought.

"I saw all that later though," Leo added. His breathing was quick and shallow. It was obvious he was trying not to cry. "The first thing I saw was my dad and mom tied to chairs in this windowed room that was all lit up. They had wires all over them."

The blood drained from Robin's face. He looked like he was going to be sick; all five Titans did. God, how Beast Boy hoped this didn't end like he thought it was going to.

"A man held me, wouldn't let me go to my parents. I tried, I really did, but I couldn't get away. Someone talked to me from the dark. I couldn't see who it was. He said my mom and dad were useless, that I didn't need them and I'd be better off without them, so he would take care of that fo-for me." Down slipped one tear, then two, and before Leo could stop them, they were pouring down his cheeks with a heartbreaking wail. "Another man wearing a mask flipped a switch…and…and…" He was choking on his sobs.

Starfire, eyes burning with tears and rage, reached out and pulled Leo into a fierce hug and he clung to her in blindly.

"They made me watch!" he howled, slightly muffled because his face was pressed against Starfire. "They he-held me there and made me watch while I sc-screamed and cried and saw mom and dad yelling out and getting hurt until…until they couldn't yell or hurt anymore!"

Beast Boy felt horror root him to the spot. This was a child, for God's sake. _A_ _child_. No one should ever have to watch their parents die that way, let alone this boy who was crying his heart out as he gripped Starfire with white-knuckled fists. He was barely old enough to understand death in concept and he had been forced to witness the torture and murder of his mother and father.

It took a long while for Leo to calm down, and even when the worst of it had subsided, he was still whimpering. If there was more to tell, he didn't seem ready to say it, but they had to know, thought they hated to do it.

Raven steeled herself to ask in a bare whisper, "How did you get away?"

"I ran," Leo answered in a voice just as quiet and small. "The men holding me let me go after they…af-after they…" His lower lip trembled, but he pushed on. "… _after_ so they could load some of the trucks outside. I guess they thought I wouldn't be any trouble or do nothing since I knew what they could do and that they could do that to me. I didn't care. I snuck away and as soon as I was at the door, I ran, faster than I ever have my whole life. I didn't know where I was and I didn't know where to go, but I had to get away. I was scared to go to the police in case they didn't believe me. I spent that night hiding in an old building where nobody lives anymore. I didn't sleep. I was so afraid they would find me. I decided that I had to find the Teen Titans to help me. I knew you were probably the only ones who could. I tried to find my way to your tower, but I kept getting lost. They almost caught me the next night while I looked for a place to sleep. They still might be looking, but I couldn't keep hiding forever. I had to find you."

For a long while, no of them spoke or moved. They barely breathed. Beast Boy wanted to rip apart the monsters who had done this. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to scream until his lungs burst. He wanted to take Raven into his arms and pretend nothing else existed. But most of all, he wanted to know why and how Robin had dreamt about almost the exact same thing that Leo gone through.

Leo was starting to droop in Starfire's hold.

"We should take him to the tower for tonight," said Cyborg.

Robin looked dazed, but with visible effort, he dragged himself out of his stupor. "Of course. Raven, can you…?"

Raven let his question fade away as she took them all home with a flick of her hands.

-T-

The common room was a welcome sight to Starfire.

"Your car is back in the garage too," Raven told Cyborg in an undertone.

Cyborg turned to her, looking very much like he had forgotten all about the T-Car. "Thanks."

"I want to scan the kid to make sure he's not seriously hurt," he said suddenly. "He only looks a little banged up, but better safe than sorry."

Starfire shuffled over to the common room couch to lay Leo down. She softly brushed locks of his red-gold hair away from his forehead and untied his sneakers to slip them off.

By the time she was done, Cyborg was studying his arm console. "He's alright…physically at any rate," he muttered darkly. "Raven, if you could close up a few of these nastier scratches before they get infected that would be good. I wouldn't do it now in case it wakes him up. God knows the kid could use some rest."

Raven nodded slowly.

Starfire went to the hall linen closet to grab some extra pillows and blankets, trying not to think about how Leo had slept on the damp, dark streets and in condemned buildings for the past three nights as she rummaged around the shelves. She arranged the covers around him tenderly so as not to wake him up, and when she finished, she gave him long look. She felt startled to the core. Everything that Leo had told them tonight was horrific enough, but it was doubly so because it was the exact way Robin had seen his parents die in his nightmare almost two weeks ago. The similarities were too great for it to be chance; there had to be a connection between these orphaned children and Robin.

Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg were seated at the kitchen table, their heads bent together in murmured discussion. Starfire turned her gaze from them and found Robin not too far from her. He appeared to be standing in the same exact place where Raven's portal had left him, but she could tell from the clouded look on his face that his mind was whirring. She crossed to him and slowly peeled off his mask to get a better read of his expression, cupping his brooding face with her palm. Robin looked into her eyes, his face not clearing.

"What does this mean?" he whispered. He sounded like he had reverted back into the boy from Haley's Circus.

Starfire brought her other hand to his cheek and cradled his face. "It means we have a lead. Come. We must talk with the others."

Robin's eyes regained a little of their usual sharpness at those words and he allowed himself to be shunted towards their friends. They immediately broke off their talk as Robin and Starfire dropped into chairs at the table beside them.

"Cyborg was telling us that Leo followed you three for a while tonight," said Beast Boy.

"Mmh," Robin grunted. "We saw him sneaking around and watching us in a few alleys for about half an hour before we realized that maybe it wasn't just some kid messing around. Starfire went to talk to him and he tumbled out from behind a dumpster pretty shaken up."

"He seemed very frightened to tell us," said Starfire. "Of course, he has every reason to be…"

They all turned to look at the boy sleeping sweetly, his chest rising and falling in time with his deep, even breaths.

"It can't be a coincidence." Raven articulated what they all were thinking.

"No," Cyborg agreed, "it can't."

Beast Boy said, "We need to look near the piers. Problem is, those are a lot of docks to look through."

"The docks are a much easier area to handle than the whole city." Robin's expression was grim. "It's time all of us went in on this once and for all. This isn't about just me anymore. The girl from last night, Leo, my—" He paused as if the word was bitter on his tongue. "—kidnapping, it has to all be linked somehow."

He glanced out the window as the sun peeked over the horizon and streaks of light glared through, signaling the close of another sleepless night. His voice became colder and more detached. "We should rest up today and prepare. Tonight, I want us to search every inch of the piers for these bastards. I want to find them, and I want them locked up so they can never see the light of day again. Are you with me?"

"Yes," Cyborg answered at once.

"Yes," echoed Raven and Beast Boy.

Starfire looked around the table at her friends. Their faces were pale, weary, but determined.

"Until the very end."


	14. Dangerous Waters: Part 1

Raven had only been able to sleep for a couple of hours. Her dreams were fitful, full of pain and weeping children.

Her body was like lead as she tried to drag herself up, and she knew it was more than exhaustion that made her feel so heavy. Last night was with her even now as a burning presence, smoldering like a dormant fire that would be reignited with the smallest gust of wind to send it blazing. Raven was angry.

Leo's small, sleeping face was etched in her mind's eye, and every time she dwelled on him, she wanted to send the men who orphaned him to the ninth circle of hell. It just wasn't fair. How could monsters like that walk around freely right now while good, innocent people were killed in cold blood? Leo would have to find a way to move on with his life, only eight and trying to get past watching his parents being murdered before his eyes. What was left for him? Bouncing from orphanage to foster homes and back again for the rest of his childhood until he would be flung out onto the streets of a selfish world to care for himself?

Raven clenched her fists so hard that as her nails bit the skin of her palms, she drew a little blood.

_I have to calm down. I'm getting irresponsible. I have to be more careful._

Even without looking at a mirror, she was sure her eyes had turned the same color as the stains on her hands. She had to rein in her anger before it got out of control. Yesterday's robbery attempt flashed through her mind and her fury threatened to boil to the surface. She could still feel Blade's throat being crushed in her grasp as she squeezed. Raven knew her eyes had gone scarlet then too. Between Blade's attack and hearing what Leo had gone through, Raven was not surprised that her emotions were overpowering her, but she was exasperated with herself for letting it get to this point.

Raven folded her legs into the lotus position, shut her eyes, and rose from the bed to meditate. Breathing deeply and slowly, she released and expelled her rage as best as she could. Clearing her mind proved more challenging than usual, but after an hour's concentration, she found herself tolerably more composed. Letting her lids blink open, she descended back onto the bed.

She took one last cleansing breath before standing and walking over to her bathroom. Catching sight of herself in the mirror, Raven saw she looked paler than usual and dark shadows were under her eyes. She turned on the faucet and scrubbed away dried blood from the little half-moon indents on her hands, healed the marks, and splashed water on her face.

As she wrapped her cloak around her shoulders and secured it in place with her brooch, Raven saw something bright red on her sheets. Taking a few quick steps over to the bed, she did a quick check of her own body to see if any blood came away, and when her hands looked clean, she examined the bloody spot in puzzlement until she finally realized the blood was probably Beast Boy's.

It had been quite dark in her room when she finally collapsed onto her bed very early this morning, so she never even noticed the stain. She had been lying in Beast Boy's blood for hours without knowing it. Raven shivered slightly, then raising her hand to strip the dirtied sheets from her bed and send them into a corner. She would take care of washing out the blood later, and if that didn't work, she'd just burn them.

She was suddenly anxious to see Beast Boy. She had meant to check him again last night, but after everything that had happened, she forgot. Seeing the dark stain on her sheets, she was vividly reminded of how much blood he had lost.

She lightly tapped on Beast Boy's door with a single finger, and after a minute, she heard stumbling. The door slid open to reveal him with tousled hair and sleepy eyes.

"Oh, Beast Boy, I'm sorry," said Raven, already retreating. "I didn't even think. Go back to sleep, I'll come back…"

Without a word, Beast Boy opened his door wider, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her inside. Raven had no time to do anything other than let out a muffled _mph_ as he closed the door shut again swiftly, pressed her up against it, and gave her a hard kiss. Once she got over the shock of finding herself sandwiched between Beast Boy and the door, she allowed her hands to wander up his chest and around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair. By the time he pulled away, Raven was breathless and a little weak in the knees.

Beast Boy gave her a roguish smile that caused his fang to poke out over his lip. "I love that I can do that now."

Raven snorted and pushed him on the shoulder, then frowned as she noticed he was still in his bloody costume. "Lie down."

He blanched a little. "What?"

She at once felt her face heat up. "I didn't mean it like that! I need you to get on your bed so I can look over your stab wound."

"Oh, right…of course…" he laughed nervously.

Beast Boy only had to pull down the top part of his suit, but Raven turned her eyes towards the floor. She and Cyborg always took care of the team's physicals, but she was acutely aware that this was Beast Boy's bare chest right now. She made herself study what appeared to be a moldering comic book until a ripping sound caused her to look up. Instead of peeling down the top portion his costume, Beast Boy had torn it away altogether. She raised an eyebrow.

"Zipper was stuck," he mumbled. "Thing was ruined anyway." He turned to his lower bunk and uneasily reclined on the pillows.

Raven stepped over the piles of dirty laundry and trash to reach him. The spot where the skin had been punctured was now intact as if the gash had never been there in the first place. Satisfied that he looked sound on the surface, she stretched a hand over him and felt his vitals. Everything seemed to be functioning well. She lowered her arm.

"You're fine, but those ribs are going to be tender for the next couple of days. And I would feel better if Cyborg checked your blood pressure."

"Thanks." Beast Boy rose to stand and looked at her carefully. "You sleep at all?"

A cavalier brush-off was ready on the tip of Raven's tongue, but she let it crumble when his eyes caught hers. "A little, but not very well." She paused. "Leo's nightmares kind of leaked into my own."

A dark look washed over Beast Boy's face before his eyebrows shot up. "You can feel the bad energy from our _dreams_? Even when you're asleep?"

"Sometimes, yes." She wanted to make a joke, but the expression on his face made her think that he wouldn't find it very funny. "It usually isn't so affecting. Besides, I feel the good energy too, when it's really strong."

"How come you couldn't feel Robin's nightmares from before?"

She couldn't say she hadn't been wondering the same thing herself. Those dreams had obviously been bad enough that they should have grabbed her attention. "Leo's emotions are still very raw. Powerful feelings like that, they can't be repressed in a child. As for Robin, I think somehow even when he's asleep, he's more in control than most people." She thought back to how hard Robin had fought her from entering his mind when Slade's mask reagent entered his bloodstream and again when she needed to pull him out of his nightmare a few weeks ago. "He's practiced to form mental barriers that can block almost anything from going in or coming out."

Beast Boy's forehead was furrowed, but he nodded. "So what do you think?" he said at last.

"About…?"

"About Leo."

"Oh," Raven said, her anger spiking. "His life has been changed forever. What is there to say? I hope that we find the bastards who did this and make them pay."

Beast Boy didn't look startled by her outburst. He even took her hand in his. "We will."

She continued. "There has to be an explanation for why Robin was dreaming those things."

His only response was to grip her fingers more tightly because they both knew she was right.

-T-

Cyborg headed for the common room even more tired and confused than when he had gone to bed. He briefly wondered if last night might have been just a terrible dream, but as soon as he saw Starfire huddled in a blanket on the loveseat, he knew it wasn't.

Leo was still sleeping soundly on the couch and Cyborg wouldn't be surprised if Starfire had spent the entire night by his side. As quietly as possible, he started to make breakfast fetching different ingredients from the fridge and mixing them into the waffle batter, but when he dug in the cabinet for the iron, he accidently banged some pots and winced. He peered over the counter sheepishly.

Only Starfire's eyes were open. Stiff from her sleeping position, she tried to stretch out the kinks in her back before pushing off her blanket and shuffling over to sit at the kitchen table.

"Sorry, Star," Cyborg mumbled.

"Do not let it trouble you. I was but half-asleep."

He plugged in the waffle-iron to let it heat up and took a seat facing her. "The kid sleep okay?"

She flicked her eyes to Leo. "He awoke once and cried for a while. I think he had forgotten where he was."

"And you?"

"I slept," she said simply, and he didn't doubt untruthfully.

They stayed quiet for a few minutes.

"What do you think will happen to him?" Starfire broke out in a whisper.

Cyborg reached across the table and covered her hand with his as he tried to come up with what to tell her. To his relief, he was spared trying to find a delicate way to explain the social services institution when Leo started to wake up.

Starfire practically flew to his side. "How are you feeling?"

Leo shrugged a little, but said nothing.

"Come sit with us," she said to him gently, offering her hand.

"Hey, little man. You hungry?" Cyborg suddenly felt as if the bottom had dropped out of his stomach.

 _Of course_ , the kid was hungry. He'd been on the streets for three days. God, and they hadn't even thought to feed him last night, although if that had meant rousing Leo from sleep, than he didn't think any of them would've had the heart to do it. He immediately set to mixing another batch of waffles.

Starfire must have come to the same realization because she was examining Leo's face more closely. She slipped past Cyborg and went into the fridge to pour him a glass of orange juice.

"Thank you," Leo said when she handed him the cup and he gulped at it.

"Were you…," she began hesitantly, "were you able to eat anything at all for the past few days?"

At once, he looked nervous and guilty. He squirmed in his chair and stared down at his socks. "I—I stole some food—but only once or twice!" he said defensively. "People left it on the outside tables at restaurants and they were going throw it away anyway, so I took it. I didn't know what else to do."

Cyborg could only feel his stomach drop lower and he saw Starfire grip her hands convulsively like she might pull Leo to her.

"Am I in trouble?" Leo whispered.

"No," he said, trying to give the most reassuring smile he could muster when all he wanted to do was smash something. It was a sad smile, full of bitterness and pained that he could be afraid that they would hold it against him that he took a few scraps of food when he was starving and desperate, that they wouldn't understand. "No, you're not in trouble at all."

Starfire turned her face away from them both.

Cyborg finished the first set of waffles, and putting most of them into a single plate, he placed it in front of Leo with a bottle of syrup and a fork. "There you go. Eat up."

"These are good," he told him, shoveling another forkful into his mouth.

"Thanks," Cyborg said. He was glad he had been the one to cook this morning. Starfire would have meant well if she had beaten him to it, he knew, but somehow he didn't think her idea of cuisine would appeal to the kid.

Starfire walked behind Leo's chair and rested a hand on his red-gold hair without even seeming to be aware of it. "Leo, I shall return soon. Cyborg could you…?"

"Go," he waved her off. "We'll be fine here, won't we, Leo?"

He nodded, mouth too full to answer with words, but perfectly content to be left with Cyborg and waffles for company. Cyborg watched Starfire leave the room, knowing more likely than not where she was heading.

Leo finally swallowed. "She's nice," he said in between more enthusiastic bites.

"Yeah," Cyborg agreed with another look after her. "One of the nicest people I know."

-T-

Starfire almost ran to Robin's room in her fervor to see him. Her heart felt entirely too erratic after a night of watching Leo toss and turn in his sleep. When the others had gone to bed, she hadn't been able to tear herself away from him, so she spent the night by his side. It reminded her too much of what Robin was going through now. But it made her wonder, who had Robin had to hold him at night when he cried over his parents all those years ago?

She thought she heard voices coming from inside Beast Boy's room as she passed by. Maybe he and Raven had finally talked things over last night. Judging from the way Cyborg had been acting in the alley after talking with them, she was willing to bet they had.

When she finally came to Robin's door, she gave a sharp rap.

"Come in."

She knew he would be awake. Letting herself in, she shut the door behind her and scanned the room. To her surprise, Robin was actually in his pajamas and lying in bed. She wondered uncertainly if she had woken him up after all.

As she made her way over to him, he made no move to stand. Instead, he slid over to one side, clearly making room for her to join him. She felt her heart give a strange flutter. They had never done this before. Robin looked at Starfire evenly and she crawled in. At once, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her so her back pressed against his chest, and she curled her fingers around his wrists. It felt natural to be so close to him.

After a few minutes, Starfire shifted to face him. His eyes stared steadily into hers and he brought his hand up to her face to stroke her cheek with his thumb. All the soothing words of understanding and reassurance she had been planning to say melted away as she felt the rhythmic beat of his heart against the hand she splayed on his chest. Words were unnecessary.

Last night had shaken them, but they both knew that tonight could lead them to answers they had been desperately searching for these past nine months. Starfire only hoped that they didn't come at too high a price.

-T-

Beast Boy changed into a new costume after Raven left his room and he wondered how sensing multiple people's emotions did not drive her insane at times. He could barely sort out his own feelings. Zipping the back of his outfit, he made his way to the kitchen.

The double doors of the common room slid open for him and Cyborg's voice met his ears. "…can heal those cuts and bruises, if you want her too. It won't hurt at all, just tingle a little, right, Raven?"

"I'll be finished before you even know I started," she said warmly.

Leo looked back and forth from Raven to Cyborg as they coaxed him into letting her mend the various little scrapes he had all over him. Beast Boy bleakly wondered if they had come from mistreatment at the hands of his kidnappers or if he'd had a rougher time on the streets than he led them to believe.

"All right," Leo said unsurely.

As Raven ushered him to the couch and asked him to lift up his shirt, Cyborg noticed Beast Boy and approached him. "I made some waffles with soy milk for you." He gestured to a plate set aside on the counter.

"Thanks," Beast Boy said gratefully, grabbing the plate and a fork before sitting at the table.

Cyborg took a surreptitious step closer to him as he ate, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on Raven. "When all this is over, you and I are going to have a talk," he said out of the corner of his mouth.

Beast Boy swallowed hard. "It's not what you…"

"Not now, man," he told him with a small shake of his head. "We have enough to deal with. Besides, I trust you…for the most part."

Beast Boy snorted.

Cyborg joined him with his own stack of waffles and the two of them made considerable dents in their portions while Raven's glowing blue hands cleared Leo's skin of all its blemishes. Just as Raven was helping him pull his shirt on, Robin and Starfire came in. Starfire made a beeline for Leo, and Robin took some waffles for himself and sat at the table.

"So," Cyborg said, "what do you have in mind for tonight? I was thinking we should start—"

Robin interrupted him in a low voice. "We should wait to talk about the specifics once…" He trailed off with a glimpse over to the couch to see what the girls and Leo were doing only to find them on the opposite side of the kitchen table, and it was clear Leo had heard everything.

"We're going back to the docks tonight?"

Beast Boy put down his fork warily. He didn't like Leo's use of _we_.

Robin looked like he was sizing up the damage and calculating how to fix it. "Yes. The Titans and I want to start searching for the men who kidnapped you as soon as we can." Flicking his eyes to his friends almost as if looking for help, he continued, "You'll stay with the Titans East in Steel City while we do. I'm going to call Mas and Menos to pick you up. They'll take care of you until we—"

"You mean I'm not coming with you?" said Leo.

Beast Boy froze. He had seen this coming, but he knew from personal experience that trying to explain the whys and why-nots of the situation to a newly orphaned, emotionally vulnerable boy was something that no good could come from. He watched with pity as Robin struggled to articulate reasons that Leo would understand, all the while looking like he was caught in a trance of unwanted déjà vu.

Starfire jumped in at once, speaking delicately, "It is much too dangerous. You will be safe with our friends while we take care of finding those men."

"Leo," Robin seemed to find his voice at last. "I understand how you feel, I swear I do—"

"No, you don't." His tone had gone strangely hard, much too embittered for a child.

Beast Boy flinched. If only Leo knew how much Robin _did_ understand; how much they all understood.

Raven tried, "Leo, please listen—"

"No, you listen!"

Leo's cherubic face was harshly contorted. He looked like he had aged several years. His eyes had gone flinty despite the tears that welled dangerously in them and his hands were balled into fists.

Beast Boy spared a glance at Robin. It was clear he was only half-present in the situation at hand. His body was oddly rigid and he seemed far off in a time when he himself was once the small, angry, grieving child that stood before them.

-T-

_What am I supposed to do now?_

Robin stared, transfixed in wretchedness. Leo glaring fiercely back at him, his rough breathing reaching Robin's ears like it came to him through a long tunnel. Though his eyes never left Leo's face, he both saw him and didn't see him. His hold on reality had become tenuous. Even as he watched, Leo's red curls became jet-black, his brown eyes were dyed blue, and Robin felt as if he were looking at a mirror rather than at a separate human being while Leo began to speak.

"It's my mom and dad they took from me back there— _my_ parents! If anyone should get to help track those men down, it's me. If anyone should have a part in catching them, it's me. The only reason any of you know about this is because of _me_." He poking his own chest savagely.

The Titans were paralyzed as they listened to this boy who seemed less and less child-like by the second. "This wasn't an accident. My parents were _murdered_. Those men did it on purpose and for no reason at all."

Leo faced Robin directly. "I want them to suffer. I want them to die like my parents died. And I want to watch it happen."

This was all wrong. Leo was too young for all of this, much too young to be seeking that level of retribution. But Robin knew he had been scarcely any older when the desire for vengeance seized his heart in its vise.

"No," Starfire's voice rang out. She took a step closer to Leo and he whirled to face her. "That will not happen. Leo, what those men did to you and your family was evil. They are monsters and we will catch them, but you cannot come with us."

He opened his mouth to argue, but she fixed him with a look that begged him to let her finish. With a visible effort, he pressed his lips together.

"You have gone through something that most children your age cannot even imagine, and because of that, you may feel as though you are no longer as you were before, but you are still a child. It is too dangerous for you to come with us. We will not take you; it is our duty to protect you. You may not understand now, but your safety is the best thing we can give you."

"No," Leo said frantically, trying to persuade them, "the best thing you could do for me is let me face my parents' killers and make sure they get what they deserve."

Every fiber of Robin's being demanded for the same end, but it went against everything. They were Titans. The five of them had agreed from the very beginning they would not kill unless it couldn't be helped. Taking lives, even if it seemed like justice, was only more killing.

"We can't do that," said Cyborg. "We stop the criminals, stop the murderers, but we don't do that by killing. It would just be more death, more of people taking the lives of other people. They'll go to jail. The men who did this will be locked up forever."

Leo violently shook his head. "No," he said shakily. "No, you're the Teen Titans. You're _allowed_."

"That doesn't make it right," Robin said quietly, feeling like a hypocrite. He couldn't say he hadn't wanted the exact same thing a decade ago. He felt heartless as he forced himself to say the phrase he well-remembered meant nothing in his grief and hatred, but it would be the crux upon which the rest of his life hinged. "Killing those men won't bring your parents back."

Leo crumbled. Starfire reached out to pull him to her, but he flinched away screaming, "Don't touch me!"

Robin could barely stand it. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. _More than you will ever know_.

"If you were, you would help me get revenge," he said, looking back up with a tear-streaked face. "I don't want your _sorry_ , I want you to do something!" With that, he huddled himself into a weeping ball.

Robin's chest felt tight and burned. Even though he knew this was right, he couldn't help feeling that he was betraying this boy and the boy that he was all those years ago.

-T-

"Of course. What time do you want them to come to get him?"

"Within the hour if you can afford to send them so soon."

"Estaremos allí."

"They'll be there."

"Thank you."

"Are you sure there's nothing else we can do to help? At least one or two of us—"

"No. This is…something we need to handle on our own."

"Whatever you say, Sparky. If you change your minds, the offer still stands"

"Thanks, Bumblebee. Bye." Cyborg pushed his chair back from the main computer as he disconnected from the Titans East line.

He had just finished explaining, in the briefest and most general terms he could get away with, the situation surrounding Leo. Bumblebee and her team had interrupted him at least twenty times both with questions and offers to come help, but he waved them all off. The specifics were not for him to share. Maybe once this was all over…

"Mas and Menos will be here soon then?"

Cyborg swiveled in his seat. "Oh, Raven, I didn't see you there. Yeah, Bumblebee said things in Steel City have been kind of slow lately, so it's no problem. They're willing to help any way they can, but I told them we just need them to take care of Leo while we sort everything out."

She nodded. "Good call. Robin just barely came to accept that we're involved with this. If we tried to bring in anyone else, it would be a disaster."

"I figured as much. How's Leo?"

"In Starfire's room," she said evenly.

When Leo's hysterics had not calmed and he continued to resist their efforts to approach him, Raven suggested putting him into a magically-induced sleep for the worst of it. They reluctantly agreed. With one quick muttering of a spell, Leo's crying slowed to the deep breaths of sleep. For good measure, Raven had placed another enchantment on him to make his rest a dreamless one.

Cyborg studied Raven and drew close enough to take her petite shoulders in his grasp. "Raven," he looked at her seriously, "I know we don't have the time right now, but I just want to say that if this whole thing with Beast Boy is what you want, then I'm happy for you." She opened her mouth, but he cut through her, having to get out what he needed to say now that he started. "But if he's pushing you to do something that in any way makes you uncomfortable—"

He was caught off-guard when she gave him a tentative hug, but he returned it at once.

"I appreciate that, Cyborg, and I know I don't make it clear how much most times, but I really do." She hesitated, clearly embarrassed. "Beast Boy hasn't forced me into anything." In a voice so quiet he almost missed it, she added, "I don't think he ever could."

Cyborg kept his arms wrapped protectively around Raven for longer than he knew she was probably comfortable with, but he couldn't help it. He was glad his friends were finding happiness with each other, especially Raven who never thought she could experience a relationship with her powers being what they were. She deserved it.

"If he hurts you, you know I'll kick his ass, right?" burst from him suddenly.

The corners of Raven's mouth tipped up. "I know."

-T-

Robin checked to make sure that his utility belt was fully stocked and functional for the tenth time. He and the others were doing last minute preparations, things they had taken care of hours ago but were re-doing out of sheer nervous energy, as they waited in the kitchen for Mas and Menos to arrive.

Cyborg kept running to his room and then back as he made sure his systems were completely operational and charged. Starfire and Beast Boy tested all the Titans' communicators, which were spread across the counter and blinking as the two calibrated their frequencies. Raven was meditating in the far corner.

A rapid knock from the front entrance came just as Robin was about to unsheathe his birdarangs and sharpen them again.

"Finally," Cyborg muttered as he ran to the main computer to make sure it was in fact the twins at their door. While he took care of ushering them inside, Raven and Starfire strode from the common room to retrieve Leo, who was still in his magically-generated sleep.

"¿Dónde está el niño?" Robin heard from the entryway.

"Thanks for coming. Starfire and Raven have gone to get him now," he said in answer to their question.

Mas nodded.

"¿Estás seguro que no necesitas nuestra ayuda?" Menos said, echoing his teammates' suggestions from before.

"Taking Leo with you is the best help you can give us," Robin said firmly.

Mas gave a shrug, but Robin thought he heard Menos whisper something to his twin with the word _terco_ in it. He let it go because Leo was being accompanied through the door by Starfire and Raven.

"Leo," said Robin, "this is Mas and this is Menos. They're going to bring you to Steel City, and the Titans East will take good care of you while you stay there."

Leo gave no indication that he saw anyone in the room, had no response but to scuff the toe of his sneaker on the carpet. Robin fought to swallow the fresh wave of guilt that swept over him. The twins, on the other hand, went up to Leo, speaking in quick, excitable Spanish. Leo blinked in confusion.

"They say hello and wish you to be welcome at their home," Starfire explained. Before Leo could cast her off, she stooped to quickly hug him, dashing away a tear as she pulled back. "We shall see you soon."

Mas and Menos joined hands, Menos grabbing Leo's wrist tightly with his free hand. "Buena suerte," the twins wished the Titans together, and then, the three of them were gone in a white-red blur.

"Okay," Robin said, the pace of his breathing already starting to quicken. "Raven, we're ready when you are."

Raven inhaled deeply before summoning her dark energy to envelope the team. When the darkness dispersed, they found themselves in a back alley two blocks away from the docks.

Robin, checking to make sure no one was nearby, spoke hurriedly. He wasn't sure if he was being hasty from nerves or because he knew his friends would not like what he was about to say. "The most efficient way to do this is to split up and take the piers by sections."

As he expected, the others started to hiss their protests, but he held up a hand to stall them. "Listen," he said in a vehement whisper, "we don't have the luxury of time. This way will be faster. We have our communicators, we have Raven to sense us, but we do _not_ have time. People are dying. We have to end this. Tonight."

Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire fixed him with hard looks, but he met their collective stare with an expression that was a plea as much as it was a command.

"Fine," said Cyborg begrudgingly.

Relieved, Robin began issuing orders. "Beast Boy, I want to you take the eastern piers around the water's edge. Raven, Cyborg, you cover the warehouses starting from the northern corners, and Starfire and I will check out those in the south. We'll work towards the center."

He paused. "If there's any sign of trouble, if you catch sight of anything the least bit suspicious, spread the word so Raven can regroup us. We still don't know what exactly we're dealing with, so be on your guard."

"And you," Starfire gently rejoined.

Robin could tell she was the least pleased with their agreement to search separately. He lightly touched her arm but he would not go back now. He had to do this. Flicking his eyes to each of his friends once again, he swiftly turned and ran out of the alleyway, darting into the shadows as he made his way to the south piers.

-T-

Cyborg watched Robin disappear. He hoped to God tonight would end all this madness. If it didn't, he wasn't sure Robin would be able to take it. As he looked at the others, he knew they were thinking the exact same thing.

"We should go," said Raven.

Cyborg shook himself. "Right."

He saw Beast Boy briefly touch Raven on the shoulder before morphing into a fox and scampering out into the street towards the docks. She then sank into a pool of her magic.

Left alone with Starfire, Cyborg saw just how anxious she looked. "It's going to be all right."

She gave him a vague smile before taking off along the same path Robin had gone, hovering low to the ground. Cyborg turned to plunge more deeply down the alley. The narrow, littered street was not a dead end, but one that led into other back paths that let out on the far side of the piers, right where he needed to be. Cautiously picking his way through the maze, he flipped on his shoulder-light as he reached a portion of the alleys where the light of the streetlamps didn't reach.

At last, he reached the dark and gated north warehouse lot. For the first hour, Cyborg explored about half a dozen of the storage buildings without running into a single thing that was cause for alarm. There was nothing to see but rats, damp trash, and an assortment of old shipping equipment.

As he inspected some canvas-covered crates, a tingling sensation broke out over the back of his neck. He felt like he was being watched. Feigning obliviousness, he continued to walk along the warehouse which he had just examined. His shoulder-light glared brightly on the splintered woodwork, revealing nothing, just as it hadn't his first time through, but he wasn't expecting it to. He pretended to study some nonexistent find so he could stand stock-still and listen for any movement. He heard nothing, but the goose bumps on his neck stayed.

Cyborg turned to the obscure center of the room, the beam of light he gave off doing little to make his situation any more visible. Tense, he turned his right arm into the sonic cannon and held it aloft. After a couple more minutes of nothing happening, he lowered his arm, attributing his jumpiness to paranoia. Still, he took the first few steps towards the exit backwards to cast his eye over the place one last time. Satisfied that there was nothing to see, he faced forward and briskly made for the door. He had wasted too much time in one place.

He reached for the door handle, but before he could even touched it, his arm froze. Something was at his back, making his body's tech crackle with an electric current. He tried to twist to knock away whoever or whatever was hacking into him, but he was powerless to control the functions of his limbs. Even his jaw was fixed shut.

Cyborg let out a grunt of pain as he felt something sharp puncture the small area of skin on his arm. Though he couldn't see what it was, it felt like a syringe. In moments, he was overcome by a powerful drowsiness and his lids felt heavy. He could feel his power cell draining while his attacker continued to hack into his tech. His vision was fading, and the words _system failure_ blazed in red across his eyes before everything faded to black.

-T-

A green mouse scurried up a rope anchoring one of the many boats in the harbor to the dock. He balanced on his hind legs, looking around where there was nothing and no one to be seen. Well technically, there were many things around. A flock of seagulls was huddled on the deck of a sailboat. Rats were sniffing out food in the underbelly of the rotting planks. A school of anchovies was swimming lazily in the undertow. But to all intents and purposes for what he was searching for, there was nothing to be seen.

Beast Boy took human form after slipping down from his spot on the rope and stretched his legs, which had been starting to cramp. Once the circulation was back to normal, Beast Boy changed into an owl so he could do an aerial sweep. Just as he was about to take off, a rushing noise from his right gave him pause. Before he could turn to see what the source was, he found himself being roughly snatched up and shoved inside a burlap sack. Hooting indignantly, he clawed and pecked the pair of hands that darted to grab him, getting nothing but a few broken feathers which hung out oddly from his body for his trouble.

No big deal. Whoever this was obviously didn't grasp the extent of his powers. On the brink of morphing into a T-Rex, Beast Boy was suddenly stuck with a pointed object right through the bag. His world turned hazy and he was unceremoniously dumped facedown onto the pier. Escape was just a flap away, but he couldn't summon the strength to fly. He was so tired. Letting out a feeble purl, Beast Boy's body reverted back to its human shape. A blurred figure stood directly above him, but he was unable to focus his vision to see who it was. Weak and disoriented, he tried to crawl away, but the person looming over him aimed a fierce kick to his ribs, flipping him onto his back and leaving him gasping for breath.

Beast Boy struggled to keep inching away, but the figure stomped hard on his chest in the same spot where he had been kicked. His lungs' burning need for air was the last thing he knew before he slipped unconscious.

-T-

Thirteen warehouses had yielded nothing useful. Raven wondered if tonight would end up being all in vain. She had searched almost to the center of her section of the piers, but hadn't come across any sign of trouble, nor did she sense anyone.

And it bothered her.

At the very least, she should have been able to feel the presence of Cyborg's mind with very little effort since he was searching in the same area as her, but she felt nothing. Were her powers out of sorts? There would be no reason for that other than nerves, but she didn't think those were even strong enough to interfere.

She decided some meditation would clear her head if her own personal feelings were clouding her abilities. Sweeping her eyes quickly around the area, she crossed her legs and floated a few feet off the ground as her retreated into her spot on the floating asteroid in her mind. No sooner had her breathing become level than Raven heard the faint charge of footsteps. It was coming from Earth: someone was advancing towards her physical body.

The breakneck speed with which the footsteps approached tipped her off that this was no friend to her. Panicking slightly and berating herself for being so foolish in an unsecure spot, she rushed to bring her mind back to consciousness, but it was too late. As her eyes fluttered open, she felt the sting of something slamming into her neck, the force of it knocking her from the air. Before her pupils could even adjust to the change in light, her lids fell heavily over them again no matter how desperately she tried to fight it and darkness claimed her.

-T-

The walls and crates, lit a garish green, revealed nothing but the rotting and warped wood. Starfire doused the starbolt in her fist with one deft movement before continuing her search in the dark. She was trying to use her starbolts as a light source as little as possible, not wanting to draw attention. Giving these people the advantage of finding her before she found them might be disastrous, but just now, she couldn't pass up flaring one to life to more carefully inspect the nooks created by a pile of abandoned cargo. It was a perfect place for hiding.

Except the thing was, no one _was_ hiding there. She had no luck finding any trace of the men who took Leo. As far as she could tell, no one was ever here. But they had to be. She pushed away the crippling thought that the people they sought had moved to different headquarters by now to protect themselves from discovery after Leo's escape. _It would be nearly impossible to have done it so quickly_ , she chided herself in an attempt to smother her worrying.

Still, not finding the men was only half her concern. She and her friends were alone in separate corners when they didn't know what they were up against, and she didn't like it. By now, she thought she might have at least have run into Robin, something which she admittedly had been looking to do. She had searched a few of the last warehouses more quickly than she had the first couple in her anxiousness to see him, or any of her friends for that matter. Facing danger as a group would be much smarter in this kind of situation, but she understood Robin's decision. Lives were in danger, lives of the citizens of Jump City, and he was a hero first. He always had been, it was just that now, it was dawning on her what that could cost the Titans.

Starfire had come to another warehouse, and as before, large crates were strewn across the lower floors, most creating recesses good for concealing a crouched body or two. Cautiously, she approached the boxes, her right arm already raised to ignite a starbolt. The energy was beginning to gather in her palm when a hand shot out from the deeper shadows around the crates and ruthlessly buried the end a needle into her arm.

Her starbolt winked out from the shock of the attack. She groped her arm to find the syringe still sticking out of it and yanked it out with a snarl. It seemed she had found something after all.

Taking frantic steps away from the crates to put distance between herself and whoever remained in wait there, she fingered the belt of her skirt to unclasp her comlink to sound the alert. As she lifted the communicator to her mouth, it slipped from her grasp with a clatter. Her fingers had gone numb. At the same time, her legs folded beneath her weight, causing her to trip backwards in her retreat and slam her head onto the concrete floor of the warehouse. She was out cold.

-T-

Robin couldn't believe he'd found nothing. He'd had to force his hand away from his communicator too many times to count, his fingers always resting on it in his urge to call his friends and ask if their searches were fairing any better. Only the idea of blowing his teammates' cover while they hid from unknown dangers kept him from calling each and every one of them.

True, it had only been an hour. But then again, _it had been an hour_. Surely something should have come up by now?

Had they guessed the location wrong from Leo's descriptions? Impossible. No other place in the city matched all the criteria he had remembered. But was what he remembered reliable? After all, Leo had been in a state of shock.

As Robin doggedly kept up his search, these questions and a thousand more plagued his mind. What were these men playing at? Did they even have a motive, or did they just kill for the sake of it? Who were they? What did any of this have to do with him, or his parents for that matter?

A car door slamming made him stop in his tracks. Anyone else might have missed the sound or found little significance in it, but he was so desperate for any sense of direction in what felt like a wild goose chase that he immediately switched the directions and ran stealthily toward it. He climbed the roof of a warehouse. The rooftops in this section of the piers were close together enough for him to clear without real difficulty, and his view would be much better from up here. Jumping from roof to roof, he at last caught sight of something, skidding up short at the ledge and lying flat to see without being seen.

Three large vans were parked outside the particularly decrepit warehouse Robin was now perched on. It was boarded-up and looked about ready to be condemned. Several thuggish, masked men were hauling heavy crates into the building, but a few were milling around the vans, very much as if they were guarding them. They were armed, so the likelihood of that idea increased tenfold in Robin's mind.

This had to be it.

He needed to get a closer look of what was going on inside. Creeping back along the roof, he sought out a door, an air duct, anything. In the center of the rooftop, he found a narrow escape hatch, but it was rusted shut with weather and age. Robin reached into his utility belt for a birdarang and crammed one of its knife-sharp wings into the lip of the hatch, scraping it along all four sides to be rid of as much of the rust as he could manage.

Tossing the scratched birdarang aside, he took the handle in both hands and heaved. He was relieved when he saw it gave way after a little more effort. Unfortunately, the hinges were also rusted and the pressure put on them to open after so long caused a horrible squealing racket.

His eyes went wide and he gave the roof an alarmed once-over as he stood frozen to see if anyone would come running to investigate the noise. After a minute of no startled shouting or approaching footsteps, he realized he was safe and slipped down through the hatch into the building. The high ceiling ramp where Robin landed was fine for a safe drop, but useless if he wanted to see what was happening below. Grabbing the railing, he swung to a lower level loft in the middle of the room which, while not a bird's eye view of the whole area, was much closer to men and a good place to overhear what was going on. He lay on his stomach, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, damning the bright colors of his uniform and not for the first time.

As far as Robin could tell, this was only an offshoot of the warehouse. The room was little bigger than the tower's common room. Men were still carting cargo into the place, setting it inside the alcove somewhere below and behind him. By the door, another thug was posted to keep watch with a rifle in hand. He was a burly man, dressed in an ill-fitting suit and he wore no mask. What was visible of his neck was covered in tattoos.

"Hey!"

Robin's hand jumped to his bo staff, thinking he had been seen.

A gruff-voiced man, only half-visible from Robin's position, was the source of the noise, and he talked in aggravated tones with the tattooed man. "Dante, you gotta take the new one. She's starting to spook the others and she can't be riling up the tamed ones. Not now."

"Not my job," Dante told him.

"You think the boss is gonna give two shits if babysitting wasn't part of your job description? We can't keep her near the others and let them hear her talk like this, so either you keep her here with you, or—"

"Fine," barked Dante, releasing the rifle to grab something. "Lousy sonuva…" He dragged a small, pale girl by the wrist to stand just inside the room with the cargo.

"I want to go home," she cried. "I don't want to stay here!"

"Shut up," Dante growled.

"I want my mommy and daddy! I want to go home!"

"I said shut up."

"Let me go! You can't—"

"Shut the hell up, kid, or I'll blow your brains out," he said, whipping around to shake her hard by the scruff of her neck.

The girl continued whimpering, but not a word passed her lips.

Robin was shaking. He couldn't think. He wanted to leap out and beat the almighty hell out of every single man involved with this. It was then his brain caught up with his emotions. _What are you waiting for? Call the others now!_

He rocked back on his heels and made for the communicator on his utility belt. His fingers gripped the grooved plastic. "Titans, I've found something."

No response came.

" _Titans_ ," Robin said with an edge of panic to his whisper, "report!"

Still nothing. Something was wrong. Robin's mind was racing. Were they hurt? Were they even nearby? How could he find them all to help them?

He eventually realized there wasn't even any static as he released his finger from the talk button to wait for a response. He was still kneeling there in agitation when a shadow covered him.

Before he could so much as turn around, something smashed into the back of his head. With a grunt, he fell painfully onto his face, having no control over his body. The communicator went flying from his slackened grip and over the railing of the loft to the floor below where it shattered, the parts skidding in all directions across the floor.

And then he knew no more.


	15. Dangerous Waters: Part 2

Everything was a jumble that morning as Robin woke up.

The first thing he groggily became aware of was the muffled sound of voices, but his ears were ringing, so he couldn't make out what his friends were saying. The side of his head felt wet too, but when he tried to lift his arm to wipe at it, he found he couldn't. He was so tired that it didn't matter. He tried to fall back asleep until his alarm went off. If only this awful headache would lessen just a little, then he could figure out…

_Where am I?_

Robin forced his eyes open.

He was strapped into a hard metal chair and he couldn't move. _The warehouse._

He had been caught. They had surprised him from behind and like a fool he had let them catch him. Holding back the rising tide of panic, Robin tried to gather his wits in spite of the throbbing pain in his head. He knew now that the wetness he felt was blood drawn from when they bashed his head in. Much of it was caked dry on the side of his face, but his sudden exertion must have caused whatever gash that was back there to reopen. A steady drip of blood was trickling down his neck.

Bright lights bore down on him. Squinting past them, he could make out four big men glaring at him from a few yards away. None of them were busy rushing back and forth with crates now. It seemed their only job was to keep watch of him. Robin's eyes slid in and out of focus as he tried to find a way to get himself out of this. Looking around hopelessly for anything to help him, he realized that he was enclosed and isolated in a room made of glass.

The room Leo had seen his parents die in and Robin had seen in his nightmares.

In horror, he dropped his eyes to his own body. A section of his uniform had been torn away and his exposed chest was covered in electrical probes. Two more wires were attached to his temples. His desperation was renewed with urgency, his eyes raking the room for any means of escape.

Then, he finally noticed them.

" _Starfire_!"

All four of his friends were across the room, gagged and bound in a row of chairs. As far as he could tell, Starfire was the only one conscious, but his cry had made Beast Boy and Cyborg stir very slightly. Her eyes were set on him, reflecting the terror he knew his own face must have shown.

"Quiet," sneered one the men. He recognized Dante.

Upon hearing Robin's voice, Starfire had redoubled her efforts to break free of her bonds, but he saw her struggling was getting her nowhere. What had these people done to his friends? Why couldn't Starfire break free?

Robin saw her eyes become fixed on something behind him.

"So, this is what's become of you."

He felt his entire body seize up. That voice. _That_ _voice_. It was impossible.

"Robin, it's been far too long," said Zucco, walking into his line of sight.

His heart stuttered to a stop. The man who murdered his parents was standing right in front of him, still alive. This couldn't be real.

"You're dead," he said stupidly.

Zucco's mouth spread into a grin as his hands flew to pat his own chest to mockingly check that he was sound and whole. "Why, I don't believe I am."

Cyborg came to, his eye going impossibly wide as he saw the state he and the others were in. He joined Starfire in her continuing attempts to break free from their restraints.

Robin's brain refused to function. He had _seen_ this man die. He could barely grate out the words. "How?"

Zucco's face darkened momentarily. "You'd be surprised what you can live through."

Beast Boy's eyes were open now, but they had a glazed look to them. Still, he trained his gaze on Robin and Zucco with a burning intensity.

"Don't look so surprised, Robin." Zucco's laugh made Robin's hair stand on end. "People have been shot before and lived to tell the tale. I healed up very nicely considering, don't you agree?"

Robin's chest was heaving.

Zucco's smile, one like acid, bounced back onto his face. "Well, Boy Wonder—did you miss me?"

Robin saw red. All at once, he was a mass of twisting limbs and incomprehensible snarling, using every ounce of energy he had to claw his way free. The shock had worn off and all that was left behind was the need to lunge at Zucco and do every unspeakable thing that his instincts were telling him to.

Raven's eyes snapped open while he strained to escape. Her gaze quickly flew around the room to assess the situation. For a moment, she closed her eyes, looking like she had passed out again, but really she was concentrating to summon her magic. It never came. She joined the others in their useless physical pulling at their shackles.

All the while, Zucco stood outside the glass room, smiling at Robin's thrashing like it was the funniest thing in the world. He kept throwing coal onto the inferno. "Temper, temper, my boy. Didn't Batman teach you to hide your emotions in situations like this? Gives me the upper hand, you know. Is that why he kicked your caped ass to the curb?"

" _Fuck you_!" Robin spat, nearly tearing his arm from its socket in his frantic efforts.

"My, haven't we acquired a colorful vocabulary, Dick? Think what mommy and daddy would say if they could hear you."

Robin froze completely, as did Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven.

"What did you call me?" he asked in a dismayed whisper. _I heard wrong_ , he told himself feverishly, _that's all, I just heard wrong._

Zucco's smile became maddeningly wider. "Yes, I finally figured it out. I mean, it makes sense really. Little Dick Grayson, circus freak extraordinaire, goes out of his mind after watching his parents go splat, throws on a pair of tights and a mask, and starts running through the streets of Gotham with Batman to right wrongs and defeat evil-doers as Robin practically the next week to make up for not saving his own mommy and daddy. I don't know how I didn't put it together earlier."

 _God, this can't be happening. If he knows who I am, than does that mean he knows…?_ "You're wrong," he tried feebly. "That's not me."

It wasn't just Robin's identity that was in danger anymore.

"Oh, but you are." Zucco didn't explain any further. "If only I could have uncovered Batman's identity. Now _that_ would have put me in the big leagues."

Robin started to breathe again.

"I'll just have to content myself with his little protégé. For now."

"Just what the hell is it that you want with me?" he said, a bitter edge had crept into his voice. He abandoned the denial of who he was. Batman's secret was safe; that was all he could really hope for at this point. Now was the time for him to get some answers. "What more could you possibly do to me?"

"As it turns out," Zucco told him in that same calm, controlled tone, "quitea lot."

Robin exploded. "Why, damn it? Why now? After all these years, what do you want from me? To kill me, finish what you started? Make the Graysons a matching set?"

"Perhaps," Zucco said, casually examining his fingernails.

"Well then, come on, do it—kill me!"

An invitation of death was not what his unnerved friends had expected to hear. It spurred them to furiously take up their attempts to break free again.

Zucco let out a cold, exalted laugh that echoed all around the warehouse, some of his cronies even joining in with their own harsh guffaws. "I'm sure I will in the end, but you were of so much more use to me than just filling a vendetta. It would be a shame if you didn't hear how. Every. Little. Detail. You see, it could have gone either way when I had my men abduct you nine months ago. If you hadn't given me what I needed, then I'd have simply killed you then and there. It just so happened…ah, but I am getting ahead of myself, aren't I?"

Robin stared at him stonily, even while the revelation of his kidnapper rocked over him. He knew at last: Zucco was behind everything.

"For a couple of years, I took it easy while I was healing up from that gun-wound Falcone's bastards tried to do me in with the day I walked free. I ran business as usual, mostly in Gotham, but here and there in Star City and Metropolis. I never stayed in the same spot too long in case anyone who wanted me dead came for me. That list keeps getting longer for some reason. Of course, since I was so high on the radar of Batman and Robin before, almost no one wanted to touch me. They knew who I was no matter what alias I took on. Deals were falling through constantly with everyone always checking over their shoulders for you two. I became a pariah among the mob families."

"I'm so sorry that I destroyed your livelihood," interjected Robin derisively.

"You should be, kid," Zucco said menacingly. "And if not, you will be." He picked up his story with a lighter, jabbing tone. "With my line of work no longer a possibility, I came up with an alternative, one you inspired me to come up with, in fact. When Mommy and Daddy Grayson bit it, that was huge for you. Had to be, or you wouldn't have come after me stupid and alone like you did for revenge."

Robin lips curled into a snarl. He was tugging at the metal straps holding him in the chair harder than ever, wasting none of his energy on words.

"I figured if I changed your life so much just by killing off your parents, why not repeat the process but take advantage of the aftereffects? My own little mob, handpicked, ready-made, and ripe to be molded in my image. Dropping people from six-stories up wasn't exactly a viable option. I needed something less messy, more efficient. Here came another stroke of inspiration thanks to you, Dick. See while they had me on death row, I knew all that time while I was rotting in that cell how they were going to put me down: the electric chair. I became obsessed with it. The idea of sending electrical currents through the human body, frying up the brain like a slice of bacon, making the heart give out from sheer overdrive. You can imagine how it was etched into my head for months while I waited. Even after I got out, I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I put my obsession to good use. Why not make my very own electric chair? I kill the parents in a way that makes it a show for the kiddies—that's the important part, see, having them watch—and I get to do it the way the law was planning to bring me to _justice_ ," he hissed out the last word like it was poison. "How's that for irony?"

"You son of a bitch!"

Zucco put his hands flat on the glass separating him from Robin and went on like he hadn't even heard him. "For three years, I planned. Getting the materials was easy, but have you ever tried building an electric chair?" He laughed a little. "We finally finished the damn thing and while it won't be getting any prizes for humane execution, it gets the job done. Cooks the organs like a Fourth of July barbeque after a while, minus the unconsciousness."

A memory was itching at the back of Robin's mind. "The blackout. That was you, wasn't it?"

Zucco started clapping. "Oh, bravo. And it only took you seven months to figure it out. No wonder the World's Greatest Detective recruited you. Let's just say the machine worked a little too well that night. Restoring the city's power before you brats came snooping proved tricky, but we managed." His face split into a devilish grin. "We're still tweaking it, but what can I say? It's a work in progress."

Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire's faces were all drained of blood. Robin had stopped moving altogether, listening to what Zucco was telling him in complete silence now. Zucco had been nothing more than a low-life criminal with a temper. How had he gotten so ambitious? This was too methodical, too smart for him. He had to know everything.

"Being the good citizen that I am, I decided that my little project needed a trial run before it hit public. Sure I could have used it on any poor son of a bitch that came my way, but I considered some things. Like how fun, how much more _fun_ , I could have trying it out on _you_ first."

Robin was like stone.

"I knew that Batman had turned you out and you had found a new group of freaks to play with, so I moved the operation here to Jump City," said Zucco. "I had to do a little research. Technology jammers were a given because it was a safe bet you little fools go sniveling to each other on your glorified walkie-talkies and implant GPS chips into every surface you could in case somebody lost their way to granny's house. But I'd heard things on the streets from others who had come through Jump and crossed paths with you."

Zucco left his place in front of Robin and treaded over to the other four Titans, making directly for Raven. Stilling at his approach, she stared at him coldly and he leered at her, his hand drifting out to land on her thigh. "That this one was magic, could sense people. Find them with sorcery." Slowly, he traced a line up and down her leg. Raven flinched and squirmed, but the bonds held her tightly in place.

Beast Boy's breathing quickened pace and his pupils constricted. Zucco's hand left her thigh and made its way to her cheek, but she turned her head to the side as much as she could manage to avoid the contact. His reaction was instant. Dragging his arm back, he slapped her violently across the face.

The scream of rage from Beast Boy was muffled by his gag as he tried harder than ever to rip himself free.

"Leave them alone!" Robin shouted.

Instead, Zucco made his way down the line. "Then there was the animal boy, tin man here…and let's not forget the _alien_." He stooped over Starfire, pressing his nose into her hair as he passed behind her and breathing in deeply. Her back went stiff and her eyes turned hard.

"I said leave them, you bastard!"

Zucco leisurely made his way back to Robin. "Needless to say, I couldn't have you kiddies spoiling my fun. What good would these morons—" He gestured carelessly towards the armed men flanking the glass room "—do me against people who have super-strength and flight and magical powers? No, they would have found and rescued you before I could make you scream once. Luckily, I found everything I needed. Nifty little cloaking devices built that prevented us from being found by technology or magic. Chemical narcotics potent enough to subdue even your friends and their abilities in case they stumbled upon our practice sessions. Gotham really does have all the best toys."

Robin's hands clenched into fists.

"They never did find us though, Dick. I bet they just never really gave it a good go. They probably figured they were better off without you. Just like the Bat."

Starfire growled into her gag, his words hitting a nerve.

"You," he said, beginning to crack up, "were easy enough to capture with a bang to the head. _Twice_. You must be useless to them. Tell me, how is it that you, the one with no powers and by far the weakest of your little group here, were named the leader?"

The metal straps were becoming flecked with drops of blood from Robin's raw wrists as he began to writhe again.

"I'm glad I kept the stuff around though. Turns out it was useful to me after all. Well, waste not…. Anyway, where was I? Ah yes. We had to wait a while longer before we could begin because the moment we arrived in town, you ran off to Tokyo. In the end, it worked out better. I settled in without being caught by you nosy brats and scoped the place out. I was willing to wait until you came back."

"I'm touched," Robin said cuttingly.

With a flicker of a smirk, Zucco went on. "After you resurfaced, I wasn't sure when I would be able to get you off on your own. Come to find out, it wasn't long at all."

Robin saw himself offer to take over Cyborg's patrol duty the night they came back.

"I arranged for some of my boys here to bag you while you were off moodily brooding on some city rooftop, I'm sure looking very much like a mini-Batman. I had you brought here and you were my guinea pig, drugged the entire time to keep you nice and incoherent. Well, mostly incoherent. I did need you to talk. I would turn the dial a bit, ask a question, and then juice up the power a bit more. We would go on like that for hours. You were a stubborn one. That line you had drawn for yourself between Dick Grayson and Robin…well, for a while there, I thought I had guessed it all wrong."

Zucco's face took on a triumphant glean. "But on the seventh day, I broke you. I struck the right nerve, hit the right level of pain, asked the right question—hell, maybe all three. It was pathetic. You were sobbing for mommy and daddy like a three-year-old."

The sinister smile plastered on his face drove Robin to cut his arms more deeply on the straps in his struggle. "I knew for sure I had something then. If watching them die still weighed on you like that after all these years, my plan was golden. Call me sentimental, but I just couldn't kill you. I thought it better that you live with all that resurfaced hell I'd uncovered. I kept you a little longer instead, and since I had you here anyway, I continued to test my device on you very…successfully."

Starfire had started to throw all of her weight forward in her frenzy to rip free. She couldn't take hearing anymore.

"After a while, you didn't even remember where you were. It was like the pain had short-circuited your short-term memory. That worked fine for me if you repressed everything. You not remembering our little reunion was better cover for me. Still, I liked knowing you had those burns from our time together as a little souvenir. A reminder of what you had forgotten."

Robin's breathing was ragged.

My men delivered you back to your tower in the middle of the night while all your friends were out—looking for you, pretending to look for you, who knows?"

Starfire's grunt of outrage caught Zucco's attention. "Easy, sweetness," he said, turning to her with an oily smile. "You'll get your turn."

Robin felt the blood drain from his face. "Zucco, I swear to God. If you so much as touch them—"

He cut through his threat. "You'll do what? Not say anything until it's too late?"

The allusion to his parents bit Robin fiercely, stunning him into bitter, guilty silence.

"From there it was simple. Targets were almost too easy to find. It's like the whole damn city is one giant Norman Rockwell painting. I captured the family, killed the parents, and conned the kids into thinking I was their noble rescuer from the big bad men. Orphans are so easy to manipulate; I had them eating out of the palm of my hand. Some were so grateful to me that I had them doing jobs within the week. I believe you turned one over to the cops?"

Starfire and Robin remembered all too well the girl they had found in the jewelry store.

"The ones that were more difficult to persuade I sometimes had tossed back out to have a taste of what life would be like for them now living on the streets, in orphanages, in foster homes, the works. When I reoffer the chance to come work for me, they came crawling right back every time. Thank God most adults already don't listen to what children say. They knew that no one else would believe them about their precious parents without proof. Just like with you, Dick."

Robin flinched. _How could he know…unless I spilled about that too when he had me in here?_

"I assume the boy who escaped my men the other night came running to you?"

He wouldn't answer and risk endangering Leo.

"I thought as much. No matter," Zucco snapped his fingers and two men came lumbering over to him. "By the way," he turned back to Robin, "coming after me when you finally got wise with a large group of misfits my men could recognize from miles away? Making a racket loud enough to wake up hell itself when you dropped in from the roof? And," he held up a small object between his middle and index fingers, "leaving things carelessly behind so I knew exactly who had come?" It was the birdarang Robin he'd used to pry open the roof vent. He tutted exaggeratedly, but his eyes were wild with pleasure. "You've lost your touch. Batman would be so disappointed."

His face burned at Zucco's remarks. Robin knew he was only talking to hit him where it hurt, but he couldn't help but wonder on some level if it was true. After all, he had been thinking about what Batman would have to say about how he had handled everything only a few weeks ago. It wouldn't have surprised him at all if his old mentor was disappointed in him, even more than he already had been when Robin left. He never was good enough for him.

"I was generous enough to let you live once. You couldn't expect me to do the same again, Dick, could you? And now you've dragged your friends into this whole mess. That is unless…"

He listened to Zucco trail off with an impassive face, but inside he was all attention. There had to be something he could do to at least get his friends out of this. This was his fight, not theirs.

"…you tell me the identity of Batman. Give me a name, I give you and your friends freedom."

Robin dropped his head.

Zucco had asked for the one thing he could not and would not do. He couldn't look at his friends; he couldn't stand to have them believe that his mentor's identity was worth more to him than their lives. It was a lie anyway. He knew Zucco was only manipulating him. He wouldn't let him go now that he had him here, even if he told him the true identity of every hero in the Justice League. Besides, the idiot would be in over his head with that kind of information. Knowing who Batman really was would be too big of a windfall for Zucco to even fathom what to do with it. He was a swindler and a cheat, not a mastermind. But maybe he would be more lenient with his friends. After all, they were nothing to Zucco, he had no vendetta against them…

But Robin could not betray Batman. He lifted his head and stared defiantly at Zucco, letting his silence be his answer.

Zucco's face twisted horribly. "So be it. Me, you, and your friends are going to have one hell of a time tonight."

Robin broke into a cold sweat. "You have me, Zucco. Let my friends go and they won't tell anyone you were responsible for my death."

He was positively beaming. It was beyond disturbing. "No. Oh no, no, no. They get to watch this time, and then they die themselves, one by one. Really, I should have them go before you so you could see my masterpiece in action from another perspective before you die, but you're already so nice and set up there so…" He gestured to the two men next to him to head to the huge console with dials and knobs attached to the wires snaking into the glass room and stuck all over Robin's body.

Raven and Beast Boy, Cyborg and Starfire, each of them thrashed back and forth, utterly desperate to get Robin out of that room.

"Wait!" he yelled. "You don't need them. I'm the one you're after. Just let them go."

Tony Zucco only stood there and smiled. It seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest, and he could feel the pulse in his wrists throbbing.

And suddenly, all of it was like a horrible sequence of déjà vu for Robin.

He remembered. Being strapped down. The blinding shine of the lights from overhead. How he was completely helpless to save himself. The only thing he couldn't really remember was the pain, how it felt to have his body slowly break down with no way to stop it. In a bizarre way, he was thankful for it. All the same, he knew he would know that pain soon enough.

Robin looked to his friends. Cyborg was spewing distorted shouts into his gag, and though none of it was understandable, Robin was sure he was cursing fluently as he rocked backward and forward in his chair in an attempt to fall over and bust it apart. Raven, one of her cheeks bright red from where Zucco had smacked her, had her eyes squeezed tightly shut, and he knew she was trying to overcome the effects of the drug to use her powers. Beast Boy looked like he was about to pass out from his efforts to morph or just shred his bonds, but he didn't let up.

And Starfire. The entire time she fought tooth and nail to break free, her eyes never left Robin. She was willing him not to give up, to keep fighting.

So he did.

The five Titans gave it everything they had, but soon the chamber was powered up and ready to go.

"Before we start this, I have to ask," Zucco said, his face contorted perversely. "Did you really think you could run from me?"

Robin faced him. "I was never running."

"You should have stayed with Batman, little Robin. Now there's no one to save you this time."

Zucco threw the switch.


	16. Dangerous Waters: Part 3

The instant Zucco threw the switch, Robin's world exploded.

He convulsed violently as bolts of electricity flushed through his body. Robin struggled to focus through the spasms, fighting to gain control of his arms and legs so he could get out.

Just as suddenly, it all stopped.

He was breathless with pain and gulped in air like a drowning man, each lungful burning his throat.

Zucco was by the glass room again, staring in at him with sadistic pleasure. "That was just a taster, Dick. The machine has only warmed up. I want to make this moment last, so we're going to build up to the peak nice and slow."

Robin forced his heavy limbs to pull at the metal bonds holding him in the chair, but he was already weaker for the electrocution. He had no hope of breaking out anymore.

"Round two," Zucco hissed.

He tried to brace himself, but there could be no preparing for it. The higher volts of electricity made him writhe worse than before. His head was tipped back and his eyes squeezed shut. In a moment of prideful spite, he bit his tongue to rein in the scream he felt coming, not wanting to give Zucco the satisfaction. He found out that was a mistake at once. Unable to stop it, his jaw clenched of its own accord and his teeth sank down horribly into his tongue. The copper taste of blood flooded his mouth. When Zucco shut off the chair again, Robin immediately spat a mouthful of blood to the side. A line of it seeped down his chin.

His neck couldn't support his head and it sagged listlessly onto his chest. He noticed, almost as a detached observation, that the probes clamped on his torso were surrounded by blackish-purplish welts.

" _ROBIN!_ "

Robin dragged his head up to look in the direction his name had been shouted from. It was Starfire. Her gag had come loose in her exertions and it was now hanging limply around her neck. She looked demented, beautiful and demented, with her hair in bedraggled tangles half-covering her face from her ferocious efforts to break free and save him. She was crying.

He wanted to tell her it would be all right, that he would find a way to get them out of this, but he didn't have the strength; to talk, to lie, to do anything other than give her a look that he hoped made her understand how much she meant to him—how much he loved her. He knew he had to do it now, before he lost himself in what was to come.

His friends were fighting furiously to get to him, but he only sat there. His energy was gone, his will to fight uselessly gone. He only wanted it to end.

After a few more run-throughs of turning the machine on and off, the on drawing out much longer as they went, Zucco seemed all too ready to grant Robin his unspoken wish. "Say hi to mommy and daddy for me."

He looked to his friends, fear etched in every one of their faces. It was too late for him, he knew, but they still had time to get away. He just wished he could have helped them. Instead, he whispered the only thing he had time to say. "I'm sorry."

And then Robin was swept up in a tidal wave of ungodly agony.

His insides burned white-hot, like he was inches from the sun. Sweat drenched his skin, and it only served to better conduce the electrical currents being thrust into his body. It felt like his blood was literally boiling. His vision and hearing left him, but he knew he had to be screaming now because his throat was hoarse with it. He couldn't hear Starfire's screams mingling with his own.

There was only pain. As seconds turned to minutes, he thought maybe there had never been anything but pain. He was finding it harder and harder to think of himself without the sensation of burning flesh and searing nerves. Eventually, thinking was no longer a factor. He could not distinguish himself as a person from the depths of the inferno.

-T-

There were few times in the past couple of years of Starfire's life where she had felt the urge to kill, the real, uncontrollable sense that she was truly capable of ending someone's life by her own hand.

What she and the other Titans had said to Leo about killing was not how she'd always felt. On Tamaran, her people saw death as a just means of reparation. To kill was a display of strength, and though never taken lightly, by no means was it always saved as a last resort. Raised with this mindset, when she had been tested before being a Titan, she often gave in to her instinct.

Since coming to Earth, her view towards killing had undergone a revolution. As she spent time with her friends, she began to see that there were other ways to seek justice. Most humans, she came to realize, were not willing—almost seemed they _couldn't_ —kill another person. As she stayed alongside the other Titans, she couldn't help but notice the people who did kill without giving it a second thought were the ones they fought against, and the one thing she knew for certain was that she wanted to be _nothing_ like them. So in time, she had squelched that impulse altogether. Being surrounding by friends who upheld those beliefs made it second nature for her to come to regard killing an unnecessary extreme.

But now, all self-restraint built up over the past six years shattered as she sat listening to Robin scream in front of her and the urge seized at her and clutched her in its steely vise. It welled inside her, bubbling to the surface as she let loose a yell of her own.

She would not let him die.

It was like a dam in her chest suddenly broke. She felt the last dregs of the drug in her system dissolve away to nothing, and a wave of green energy burst from the core of her body, emanating all around her and pushing outward. The force of it spread throughout the room, sending all the men standing nearby sprawling onto the floor, their guns tumbling from their hands. A fine metal powder coating her clothes was all that was left from her bonds.

Starfire was free.

Before the dazed men could even begin to push themselves up off the ground, she launched herself from her chair and went flying at breakneck speed towards Zucco, who was by the machine and somehow still on his feet. Her eyes glowed fiercely as she propelled through the air. He wouldn't get away with this.

Starfire set her aim and held it steady, the beams of energy that shot from her eyes struck true. They collided into the electrical controls with a resounding crackle, sparks flying everywhere as the machine smoked and the lit knob flickered out. With a great whirring, the whole thing broke down.

She didn't pause to watch any of it; if anything she went faster. With chaos reigning around her, she kept flying straight on the path she was making towards the glass room and Robin. She pulled up sharply at the dark and silenced chamber, landing with a stumble and breaking her fall against one of its walls.

It was only then she registered that Robin's screaming had died away some time ago.

-T-

The instant Starfire rose into the air, Cyborg kicked himself into overdrive. If her drugs had worn off, then there was every reason to think his had too. Keeping an eye on the floored guards closest to him, he put all his concentration into his right arm, hoping the hack job pulled on him was not too critical.

He got his answer quickly. A couple seconds of struggle allowed him to detach his hand from his wrist. He sent it crawling up his arm onto his torso. It balanced on the bonds strapped across his chest by his pinky finger. The tip of his index finger clicked open, and carefully, Cyborg activated the small blowtorch it contained. The flame cut through the metal easily and he shot up out of his chair. He tore the gag away from his mouth and quickly snatched up his right hand to screw it back onto his wrist.

He ran over to Beast Boy in the chair closest to him and hurried to cut through his metal straps the same way. By this time, the men were getting to their feet. The second Beast Boy was free, he bounded over to Raven and morphed into a gorilla to break apart her bonds.

Cyborg caught the green gorilla's wrist in both hands. "Do you want to tear her arm clean off? Let me—"

But before Beast Boy could let him do anything, gunshots sent them diving apart. Five of Zucco's thugs had regained their bearings and were closing in on the three of them.

From the floor, Cyborg blasted the smoking revolver from the shooter's hand with his sonic canon. Immediately, he felt the drain on his power cell. They had done some serious damage to his equipment after all. He would have to do hand to hand combat or risk shutting down. Rocketing to his feet, he darted over to the man he'd disarmed, landing a particularly satisfying punch on his jaw and sending him crashing to the floor.

He turned to face the others and saw more men gathering behind. With a yell, he ran at them.

-T-

As the gun went off, Beast Boy hit the floor and went clambering on his hands and knees towards Raven. His ribs gave a sharp throb in protest where he'd been kicked, but he ignored it. He reached a crate and with effort pulled himself up, panting. He looked around.

There were ten armed men coming right for him.

Glaring, Beast Boy changed into grizzly bear, chomping through the gag, which in his haste he had forgotten to remove before. The stabbing pain of his ribs as he morphed made him roar unintentionally. It startled one of the men, and he lashed out towards Beast Boy with a chain whip.

Beast Boy was still reeling from contorting what he was now sure were broken ribs, and his head only cleared in time for him to see the sharp end of the chain whip as it was inches from his face.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

A wall of black slammed up in front of him and he heard metal clank harmlessly against it only a second later. One by one, he saw the men surrounding him get their weapons destroyed and become tied up by scraps of loose metal that flew from around the warehouse. Beast Boy shifted back to his human form and turned, his ribs screaming all the while.

Raven, her eyes shining white, was just behind him. Before she could say anything, he closed the space between them and seized her by the shoulders, twisting her this way and that, looking her over for any sign of injury. Satisfied that he saw nothing, he lifted his hand to the cheek where Zucco had slapped her.

"All right?"

" _I'm_ fine," she said carelessly, but her eyes went slightly soft. He was sure she was about to chew him out for not ducking that attack, but stopped herself. Or at least saved it for later when she could do it with time to spare.

She craned her head to look past him in the direction of the glass room, her eyes fraught with too many feelings. Beast Boy caught sight of a small, bloody hole on her neck as she extended it. He was sure it was entry point of the needle where it had roughly broken her skin. He moved his hand down to it and his arm clenched even from that small shift in his chest.

His face must have shown his pain because Raven's attention focused back on him and her eyebrows knit together. "Are you?"

Before Beast Boy could so much as open his mouth, he saw another of Zucco's lackeys creeping up behind her with a raised crowbar in his hands. He pushed her aside so the blow wouldn't connect, shifted into a ram, and slammed into the man with his horns.

The man's crowbar clattered to the floor and he went sprawling with the stun of the blow, but so did Beast Boy. The force of running so hard into the man headfirst jarred his ribs excruciatingly, leaving him winded and unable to hold his footing. He slid across the warehouse floor, his ram form melting back into his human one. Lying on his back, his eyes squeezed shut as he groped at the acute stabbing in his ribs.

He heard Raven's footsteps slapping on the pavement as she rushed towards him. "Beast Boy, what is it?"

"M'ribs…" he managed to slur. Little white stars were popping in front of his closed eyelids.

There was the feeling of his costume being sliced open near his stomach, and Raven let out a hiss. "This looks terrib—is this a _shoeprint_?"

Without even looking, he knew that her eyes had probably gone red. He had to keep her from giving in to it. "Raven…heal now…kick their asses…later please."

He cracked his eyes open to see her face. Her head gave a jerk he took for a nod and her hand stretched to hover over his ribcage. When she pulled it back, her face was looking gray.

"This is bad. Your ribs are broken—pierced your lung and liver—there's so much damage."

Beast Boy was having trouble focusing on what she was saying but he heard her voice shake. Though his eyes were open, his vision was getting darker and fuzzier. Raven's voice seemed to reach him from very far away.

"This is too extensive for a quick fix. I need time…I need…"

-T-

"Cyborg!" Raven cried.

He was a couple of yards away, fighting with a group of Zucco's men, and only heard her vaguely, the fight he was caught in stopping him from registering the desperation in her voice. He wasn't even able to look in her direction; a second of inattention would have serious consequences.

"Little busy, Raven!"

Three thugs were hanging on him and attempting to remove his arm. Cyborg tried to throw them off with very little luck. Raven looked back down at Beast Boy. His face was losing color by the second, his eyes were half-lidded, and his breath escaped noisily through his mouth. She didn't have time for this. _Beast Boy_ didn't have time for this.

Still on her knees, Raven reached both of her arms towards Cyborg and the men. She jabbed her hands in grabbing motions at the same time dark shapes of energy formed in midair by the group. As she moved her hands, the energy spread to each man, plucked them from Cyborg's back, and hurled them to the floor.

Twisting her position a little, she sought out materials to pin them down. There were bundles of rope near some dusty crates. Quickly, she used the cords to bind all the men's feet and hands together. She dropped her hands and the energy dispersed.

"And now you're not," she sharply told a bewildered Cyborg. "Come help me with Beast Boy!"

She turned to Beast Boy again. He wasn't looking at her anymore. His eyes were still cracked open, but his head had lolled to one side. His breathing rattled horribly.

Cyborg was suddenly crouching down beside her. "What happened to him?"

She started ripping away the upper part of his costume for better access. "His lower ribs are broken, right where Blade stabbed him yesterday. It looks like one of those bastards stomped them in. He has a bruise in the shape of shoeprint. This was the worst spot it could have happened. The area was still extra sensitive after I healed it. The ribs pierced his liver and lung. The right lung collapsed and he's bleeding internally from the liver. He already lost so much blood last night, I'm surprised he stayed conscious this long." Raven paused to take a breath. There was too much to tell, too much to heal. "He must have dug the broken ribs deeper into his organs while he was fighting."

She looked up into Cyborg's eyes now. "I need you to make sure no one attacks the two of us while I try to sort this out. I can't keep stopping to fend them off. If I do, he…" Her voice broke. "He doesn't have that kind of time."

"Do it," Cyborg sprang to his feet, suddenly reminiscent of a watchdog with his hackles raised. He yelled a little more forcefully to break her from her stupor. "What are you waiting for? Do it!"

She jumped into action. Her hands were washed in blue light and she brought them to hover over Beast Boy's right ribcage. First thing was first, she had to remove the bone fragments from his lung and liver and set them, but she had to be quick, or he would bleed out from his liver once she did. The rib may have pierced the hole, but now it was also what was stemming a lot of the blood from gushing out uncontrollably. Then there was his lung, something she would have to repair and re-expand before he lost too much oxygen. All of the damage was overwhelming and she wished she could do everything at once, but she couldn't and she had to prioritize.

Carefully, Raven rotated her wrist and manipulated the bones to bend them back to their normal shape and mend them together. She heard Beast Boy let out a low groan, but only flicked her eyes to his face briefly. She couldn't afford to stop, and even if she could slow down, the whole process would still be, to say the least, less than pleasant. Cyborg didn't have any sedatives on him, so she couldn't knock him properly out for this. No time for an enchanted sleep either.

The intricate motions of her hands were almost a blur. The second she had extracted the broken ribs, the blood came surging from the punctures, almost doubling. With one hand she checked over his liver to be sure no small shards of bone remained embedded there, with the other, she sealed the rupture in it. Slowly, the hole started to close and the flow of blood tapered.

Raven felt a rough hand land on her shoulder, trying to yank her arms behind her back and away from Beast Boy. The gesture broke her concentration and she swiveled her to face the hand's owner and ward them off. A sneering man with stubble darkening his jaw was trying to pull her back, but a lone fist swiped across his face and he disappeared from her line of vision before she could do anything.

"He slipped by me," Cyborg said apologetically over his shoulder. He was locked hand-to-hand with a thug who was trying to overpower him. A tangled pile of four or five other indisposed men lay at his feet.

Raven didn't answer, but whipped around to Beast Boy again. His breathing was shallow and raspy. She had to finish healing his liver so she could move on to his lung. A few seconds more was all she needed to seal the hole there once and for all. Her hands drifted a few inches higher up on his torso. The blue glow tinted the purplish bruise mottling his skin, and she regenerated his lung tissue to stretch over and cover the place where the rib had penetrated. She checked for any bone shards she might have missed in the lung that would cause it to leak air and make all her healing useless.

At last, Raven dropped her hands and just stared at his still face. A grunt from Cyborg brought her back to the situation they were in right now. He probably needed to have a blood transfusion to be on the safe side, but she couldn't take him to the tower and abandon the others. Right now, there was nothing else she could do for him except fight to protect him alongside the others.

 _The others._ Raven jolted so hard, she thought she felt herself get whiplash. She had spent all this time on Beast Boy, but what had become of Robin? She scrambled to her feet and looked frantically around the chaos of the warehouse to find Starfire. She would be with him.

The ground started to quake. She exchanged glances with Cyborg as he dropped the last man at his feet. A dazzling green light blazed to life, suffusing the entire warehouse and casting away every shadow. At the same time, a thunderous, tinkling crash, like shattering glass magnified by a thousand, came from the other side of the room.

Starfire.

-T-

Starfire caught herself from her reckless dive to the floor smack against the wall of the glass room. Her palms pressed the smooth surface as she frenziedly tried to peer through the knotted strands of hair that had flown in front of her eyes. She brushed them back with an impatient hand.

The room was dark now that she had cut the power, but he was still partly visible. Robin's body was slumped, still as death, in the chair's cold embrace. His head reclined face-up, propped up only by the chair's back. She couldn't think. Everything else was dark around her except the sight of him, broken, perhaps beyond fixing.

He was much too still.

A well of fear and fury surged within her. Her body started to shake and soon she realized the entire room was shaking with her. In her right hand, a starbolt pulsed hotly. She thrust it into the glass wall standing between them.

It cracked and then smashed with a jiggling explosion. Debris was still falling as she pushed forward to reach Robin. Her hands severed the metal shackles on his wrists and ankles with perfunctory movements. They were shaking very badly, and it took her longer than it should have, but she was okay with that because she couldn't bring herself to reach for Robin himself to feel for a pulse. She didn't want to know, to find out like this.

"Robin," she whispered brokenly, fingers fumbling, "Robin, you must get up and fight. They cannot beat you. You are too good for this." She finished unclamping his limbs, his arms falling limply as she did. She went on to gently remove the probes on his torso and temples, but she never looked him in the face. "When this is over, we will take a break away from Jump City and fighting and everything. It will just be us. But you must get up. You must keep going. You are meant for more. It cannot end like this. Do not leave me."

The last wire fell to the floor. There was nothing for her to do but to look at him. Robin was covered in blood and burns. Patches of his skin were singed and there were angry blisters on his chest where the probes had been. Dark lines of blood flowed from everywhere. Her eyes drifted higher. Most of the blood seemed to be coming from behind his head and the line still oozing from the corner of his frowning mouth. His face was a void, his expression smooth like a slate wiped clean. In every sense of the word, he looked absolutely conquered.

Starfire felt paralyzed. She couldn't get any nearer to him. She didn't want to know, but she already did. Her lethal rage was gone, replaced by a numbness that spread all through her.

Robin couldn't be dead.

There was a crunch of glass underfoot from behind her. Slowly, dangerously, she turned. Her anger flared back, more terrible and hot than before, her eyes burning with it. Zucco had killed Robin. He would pay.

She charged. The two men were down in seconds, a sound blow apiece rendering them into nothing but crumpled bodies on the floor. They were alive, but Starfire hardly cared. She had to get more of them. She had to find Zucco.

A man with his neck covered in tattoos ran towards her, gun in hand. She rushed to meet him. She couldn't fly; every joyful thought had been snuffed out. He yelped and dropped his gun when she shot it with a beam from her eyes, and once she reached him, she viciously grabbed him by the arm and twisted. He let out a screech as it broke. Fisting his shirt, she then tossed him several yards away from her into another of the thugs who was approaching, hoping Zucco would be the next one to cross her path.

By that time, the men had enough sense to begin running _away_ from her rampage instead of towards it, but not all of them could escape her. She chased them down, her actions becoming more and more violent as she went on, though they pleaded in pain and for mercy. Starfire lost herself almost completely. The tenuous grasp on sanity she had left she clung to, if only to stop herself from doing something that couldn't be undone.

But there were things that she could do to make them suffer.

As she cut through them, Robin's agonized screams played over and over in her head. Their cries became his, and it only drove her onward to avenge him.

-T-

" _Starfire!_ "

Starfire jerked, dropping the half-conscious man she had been holding aloft onto a pile of crates with a crash.

Cyborg and Raven were looking at her with horror plastered on their faces. The three of them stood alone in the warehouse now, every other person reduced to an insensible heap. She saw Beast Boy laid out on a stretch of Raven's magic between them, unconscious. Her body was taut with adrenaline and her breathing was harsh and labored.

"What are you doing?" asked Cyborg asked her, completely shaken.

"Starfire," Raven said frantically, "where is he?"

At once, the fight slipped out of her. She fell to her knees, sobs wracking her entire body. Raven gasped, bringing her hand to clutch her diaphragm as if to remind herself to breathe.

Cyborg's face went stark white. "No. God, _no_."

Starfire gave a pitiful wail. He ran forward, picked her up, and started running to the other side of the warehouse where the glass chamber stood, Raven behind him with Beast Boy in tow. He had to see for himself, but he couldn't leave Starfire there, not like that.

He slipped on shards of broken glass and pulled up short of the room, causing Raven to run right into him, but he hardly realized it and she didn't seem to care. Starfire, bleary with anguish, turned to look and immediately she scrambled to push herself out of Cyborg's arms. She staggered a few steps forward and let out a muffled shriek.

Inside the glass room was the chair, looking innocent as it stood completely empty.

-T-

Zucco wheezed as he clambered out the back exit, his escape masked by the pandemonium inside the warehouse. He had only just missed being seen by the alien girl as she tore through his men like so many paper dolls.

The high dosage of narcotics he had given those four had faded much more quickly than he expected. Either he had underestimated their abilities, or the Gotham dealers exaggerated.

Screams and blasts issued from the warehouse and echoed through the dirty, murky alley, but Zucco didn't bother to look back. He had only himself to look out for. His driver, who was always stationed nearby in case an emergency arose, would come get him, and the two men who had managed to flee would follow behind with the van full of kids. As long as he had those kids, he lost nothing he couldn't recover quickly. Men could be recruited, the machine could be rebuilt, but the orphans were a long-term investment and he wasn't leaving without them. He'd start again in a new city with a solid number of little brats already at his disposal.

And, of course, he'd finally gotten to kill that little bastard Dick Grayson. He wondered if Batman would cry when he heard the news of his protégé's death.

Zucco saw his driver swerve around the corner and into the alley with a squeal of tires. When he reached for the car door's handle, something razor-sharp buried itself deeply into the passenger side door, inches above his outstretched fingers.

He lurched around. Robin limped forward out of the shadows .

-T-

"The next one won't be a warning," Robin said quietly.

Zucco's eyes nearly popped from their sockets, but he struggled to maintain his look of composure. "Still alive then? You've got moxie, Dick, I'll give you that."

Robin, visible now by the grimy floodlight in the alley, took a few more excruciating steps towards him. As he did, a scuffling sound broke out by the front door of the car before the engine roared on and it went streaking away. The two other thugs who had been watching warily from safe inside one of the empty vans saw their chance and booked it out of there.

Zucco scowled after them, but Robin didn't take his eyes off him.

"Better go after them. I'll just wait here—"

"You took everything from me," Robin cut across him in a dangerously low voice. His heartbeat was loud and erratic; he was surprised it didn't drown out the sound of his voice. "Everything. You killed my parents without batting an eye and now this."

His voice was trembling as ten years of pent-up emotions came to head and spewed out of him. "I hate you. I hate you more than it should ever even be possible for a person to hate another human being. But that's the thing: you're not human. Nobody who was would ever spend their entire life causing so much misery and suffering. And for what? Money? Respect? Power?" Robin inched closer and closer. "You deserve to die. No one would care, no one would miss you. Hell, no one would probably even notice. I should just do it right now."

Zucco's hand twitched and he licked his lips.

"But I won't."

"Because you're weak," he spat.

"No," Robin shook his head, the motion making him dizzy, "because I'm better than that. Better than you."

"I beg to differ." Zucco shoved his hand into his coat pocket and whipped out a pistol. He cocked it and released the trigger.

Robin's reflexes were seriously crippled, but he flung himself to the ground. He heard the bullet whistle past his ear. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself to his feet and ran as hard as he could towards Zucco, making a lurching path so he would be hard to lock aim on. Every part of his body screamed in protest as he strained his muscles, flexing and dodging. His head felt so heavy, he could barely hold it up. He knew he was pushing it, but he honestly didn't care. He had to finish this with Zucco once and for all.

Zucco tried to shoot Robin pointblank as he appeared right in front of him, but the gun's barrel was empty, and all he got were a few hollow clicks. He quickly grabbed the shaft of the gun and brought it cleaving down through the air towards Robin's head. Robin brought his forearm up to cover his face and deflect the blow. With his other hand he grabbed the gun's handle and grappled to wrestle it away from him.

Zucco let the gun go suddenly and he went pitching backwards. As Robin staggered to regain his footing, Zucco plowed into his stomach, right into his very visible burn welts, with a merciless punch. He doubled over, pain torpedoing through him, and the gun slipped from his hand. He struggled to straighten back up, but he couldn't get enough air into his lungs to manage to move at all. As he stood there in a half-slump, Zucco's elbow came crashing down onto his spine, forcing his knees to buckle and sending him to the ground in a winded heap.

He choked, coughing into the asphalt. Adrenaline was making his blood pump rapidly, causing his wounds to reopen and gush fountains of red. Blood speckled the ground as he gagged. Robin felt hands seize him and brutally spin him onto his back. Zucco kneeled down on his heaving chest to pin him down, and stars exploded in front of Robin's eyes as Zucco sent a heavy fist colliding into his jaw. His bottom lip split open. Another blow joined the first. Then another. And another.

He could hardly suck in air, let alone fight back, as Zucco continued to pummel him. He could feel his face swelling and bruising. He had to get Zucco off him or he would kill him with his bare hands. Maneuvering his right leg from under Zucco's weight, Robin kicked his foot straight up and the metal toe of his boot made contact. Zucco rolled off him clutching his head and groaning, while Robin dragged himself as far away from him as he could on all fours, wiping the blood out of his eyes.

He made it over to the remaining van and collapsed behind it, trying to shield himself behind one of its tires the best he could.

"I'm going to kill you, you little son of a bitch, I swear to God!" Zucco swore as he blindly lay on the ground, holding the crown of his skull.

Robin forced himself into a sitting position, trying to stifle the bout of nausea and lightheadedness that threatened to overwhelm him with more insistence every second. His blood dripped silently onto the asphalt.

He was losing.

He had wanted this face-off since that day ten years ago, wanted his revenge, but instead he was having his ass handed to him. Robin had trained and fought alongside Batman, he had led the Titans for years, and in all that time he had defeated villains a thousand times worse than Zucco. So why, when it mattered most to him, could he not overcome a few injuries to beat him?

" _Help_."

Robin's head jerked. He peered around to see where the whisper came from.

More voices joined the first.

"Be quiet, you'll get us in trouble."

"You be quiet, I want out!"

"Will you two—"

They were coming from inside the van. _The kids are inside the van._ Robin hoisted himself to his feet and edged around to the locked back door where there was a dingy, tinted window. He cupped his hands around his eyes and peered in through. He could barely make out a cluster of little figures huddled together in the tight space, but they were there, and they saw him.

"It's Robin!"

"We're going to be in so much trouble."

"No, we're saved!"

He motioned for the children not to make a sound. He would get them out once Zucco was no longer a problem or he'd have a hostage situation on his hands. His heart was jolting uncontrollably.

"Come out, little Robin," Zucco jeered. "Come out and play!" It sounded as though he had gotten back onto his feet. There was a scrape of metal. He had found a weapon.

Robin scrambled to find something, anything, to better defend himself with, but he came up empty. His utility belt had been ransacked while he was unconscious. The single birdarang he had found earlier was a fluke.

"Oh, I see," came his smooth voice, closer now. "We're already in the middle of a game. Tell me, Dick, am I getting warmer or colder?" Zucco answered for himself as Robin listened to his rambling. "Warmer, of course. Blood marks the spot."

He let out a crazed laugh as Robin looked down. He had bled out all over the ground, making a clear trail right to him.

"Warmer," Zucco crowed. A swish and an explosive bang boomed out. "Warmer." His voice was very near. Robin braced himself.

"I'm on fire." Zucco's face emerged from around the van's side, a ludicrous smile on his lips and a lead pipe in his hands. "I win."

He struck out to hit Robin with the pipe, but he pivoted to avoid it. Again Zucco swung and he came so close to connecting that Robin felt a draft of air on his face from the force of it.

"Stop prancing around with your circus freak footwork and fight like a real man," Zucco growled.

He missed as Robin threw himself out of the way, instead hitting the van and blowing out the back window. The kids inside started screaming. Robin saw a gleam appear in Zucco's piggish eyes as he heard them and turned to look inside with a depraved expression. In that moment, he knew Zucco no longer cared about having those kids. He would kill them just to get to Robin.

"Enough!" He flew at Zucco, heedless of the fact that he was armed with nothing but his battered frame. It didn't matter anymore.

Ignoring the hell his body was putting him through just to breathe, Robin ducked another swipe of the lead pipe aimed at his head. As he bent down, he dropped further into a crouch, threw out one of his legs, and swiped it across the ground in a half-circle to kick Zucco's feet out from under him. Zucco landed on his back roughly, but kept his grip on the pipe. While Robin darted to grab it from him, he lashed out with it and smashed it into his hip. Robin groaned but refused to go down, willing himself to keep on his feet. When Zucco swung again, Robin caught the pipe in his hands, wrenched it from his grasp, and planted a foot on Zucco's chest. He tossed aside the pipe and it landed on the ground with a metallic rattle.

And then it was just him and Zucco. Robin thought his heart would give out from the mounting tension as he towered over him, but Zucco wasn't done. After staying still to lull Robin into a false sense of security, he aimed a fierce kick and caught Robin squarely in the small of his back.

" _Agh!_ " Robin went down.

He spasmed on the cold ground with a fresh wave of pain rocking his body and Zucco began to laugh. It echoed all around the alley until his ears were ringing with it.

"You still can't do it, can you, you little coward?" He hobbled over to retrieve the pipe. "And to think, you could have avoided all of this if you had just killed me when you cornered me on the docks when you were eight." Zucco's maniacal laugh grew louder as he clutched the pipe in both hands and brought it up over his head to drive down into Robin's abdomen. "Well, no use dwelling on the past, is there?"

As the pipe came plunging down, Robin saw his parents falling from the high-wire, their eyes boring into him as they plummeted to their deaths.

" _No!"_

He rolled and the pipe reverberated loudly as it hit the pavement and stuck fast.

Summoning the last of his strength, heart hammering, he heaved himself to his feet and launched at Zucco. Robin threw a wild punch that was blocked, but he followed it with an uppercut to the jaw that sent Zucco reeling. Zucco shook his head and came back at Robin. Robin ran at him and landed a knifehand strike right into the side of Zucco's neck. He stumbled and held his throat.

Robin looked at Zucco, who stood dazedly in front of him. He met his gaze with a cold stare, then took a sprinting leap towards him and kicked him in the chest . The thrust sent Zucco flying backwards and he crashed headlong into the warehouse wall where he slid down and moved no more.

Robin landed roughly on his feet, almost toppling forward. Panting, he stared down at Zucco's unconscious body.

A crippling paroxysm in his chest suddenly brought him to his knees. He dragged a shaking hand to grip the left-hand side of his chest where his heart was constricting entirely too fast. He looked down at the spot through blurry eyes.

"Robin!"

Starfire, Cyborg, and Raven came spilling out of the warehouse's back door. He tried to focus his vision, but he didn't have time to say anything before another severe contraction of his heart sent him down hard. Instead of hitting the asphalt, he was caught in someone's arms.

Starfire trembled violently as she cradled Robin to her. Hot tears dripped from her cheeks onto his face. "Hold on."

Everything was growing dark, and his body curved inward on itself as his heart gave a pulsing shudder. His eyes fell shut.

"Robin? _Robin!"_

-T-

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

Beast Boy's eyes cracked open. "Raven?" he called out.

"I'm right here, Beast Boy," came from right beside him.

Raven's face appeared above him. She looked exhausted, like she hadn't slept in days, but there was a faint smile on her lips.

He shifted to sit up, but her hand shot out to hold him down on the bed. "You need to rest."

Beast Boy saw that he was attached to a heart monitor, the source of the beeping noise. "What happened?"

"You needed a transfusion after losing so much blood. You've been out for two days."

"No, no, not to me," he said, shaking his head and instantly regretting it. He waited until the dizzy spell passed before he asked, "What happened back there?"

Raven drew the chair by his bedside closer to him. He flipped his hand palm-up; she saw the invitation to hold his hand and took it. Taking a breath like she needed steadying, she began describing everything she knew about what had gone on in the warehouse after he lost consciousness.

"…we found the kids locked up in the van. Fourteen of them. We called the authorities so child services could do what they could for them." Her eyes looked haunted, but they hardened. "They took Zucco to Blackgate Penitentiary."

"And Robin?"

She looked at him, her voice going gentle. "He…Beast Boy, there was a lot of damage from the electrocution. A lot."

"And?" Beast Boy said, his heart in his throat.

Seeming unsure about what she was about to do, she reached behind her to draw back the curtain screening Beast Boy from the rest of the room…or the other way around.

On another of the beds in med bay was Robin, hooked up to various machines that were giving readings on all of his vitals.

Raven spoke as he stared. "By the time we got to him, his heart was failing. The volts of electricity ravaged it, along with a few other organs. We were able to stabilize his heart before he crashed, but he's been in a coma ever since. He had a concussion and he bled out for quite a while. We fixed both, but…his body underwent a lot of trauma."

This time when Beast Boy pushed himself up from the bed, she didn't stop him. It was the smallest and frailest he had ever seen Robin look, and it confounded him.

He tore his gaze away. "Is he going to be all right?"

Raven fixed Beast Boy with a look that said that was something for which she didn't have an answer to give.

-T-

"Starfire, you need to eat," said Beast Boy, his mouth pressed against the edge of Starfire's door.

Raven and Cyborg were with him, trying to coax her out of her room, where she had barricaded herself for the better part of the last few days, barely speaking to any of them.

"I am not hungry," came faintly.

"It's been five days, Star, and I haven't seen you eat a thing except a few bites of what I force in front of you," replied Cyborg. His voice went lower and softer, "Look, we're all worried, but this isn't helping him."

There was no answer.

"That's it."

Until now, Raven had been leaning up against the wall with her arms folded across her chest listening Beast Boy and Cyborg alternately pleading with Starfire, but she'd had it. Raven's nerves had been on edge for days, weeks really, and she just couldn't take it anymore. There had been no change in Robin's condition, and though he wasn't worse, the fact that he wasn't getting better was not a good sign, and Starfire knew it.

But they were family. It was time to do what needed to be done.

Her eyes glowing, Raven melted into her black energy raven and phased through the door. She found Starfire sitting on her bed, staring blankly at the wall. She didn't even turn to look at her.

"Sorry, Starfire, but you're not leaving me another option here."

With a gesture of her hand, she sent energy to grip Starfire, reached it out even farther to take Cyborg and Beast Boy as well, and transported all of them to the kitchen. They landed in a tangled heap behind the common room's couch.

Beast Boy crawled to extricate himself from the pile. "You are officially not allowed to do that without a warning. I think I left my stomach back there."

"Well I could have broken down her door and carried her out kicking and screaming too, Raven," Cyborg said sarcastically as he pushed himself to his feet, "but I have a little more tact."

"Tact didn't get her out of her room, did it?"

"I do not wish to—"

"Well _we_ wish to, Starfire," Raven cut across her. "You need to talk to us."

Starfire gazed away from all of them, hugging herself.

"Please," Raven added quietly.

Beast Boy looked between them and walked over to Starfire to put his hand on her shoulder. A tremor seemed to run through her at the tender gesture.

"I am so angry," she said abruptly, turning back to them with eyes that were glassy with unshed tears. "What they did was unforgivable. I do not want Zucco in Blackgate. I want him here, so that every day I can make him suffer for what he has done. And that scares me." She sucked in a shuddering breath.

"Star," Cyborg spoke gently, "I feel that way too, but that's no reason to…" He trailed off as she fiercely shook her head.

"Back there, after they…I was ready to kill them all. You saw me."

"But you didn't," said Beast Boy.

"I _wanted_ to. I could have done it, easily. When I broke free, I had almost decided to hit Zucco with my eye beams instead of the machine. How does that make me any different from them?"

"Starfire, don't you see?" Raven told her. "Even though you wanted to kill him and the others—something we all wanted to do—you held yourself back. It's understandable, natural, to feel that much rage after what they've done, but you controlled yourself, and that's all the difference in the world. You're nothing like them."

Starfire said nothing, only looked at the floor. Of course, that was not what was bothering her most and they all knew it. The main thing, it seemed, she couldn't bring herself to say, because to say it aloud would make it real.

It escaped from her, though, in a distraught whisper like a shameful confession. "What will we do if we lose him?"

A single tear rolled down her cheek. She looked up, and her gaze went past them and riveted on something.

Robin was standing in the doorway.

It was as if they were all frozen, but then Starfire leapt into the air and flew straight at him. She barreled right into him, knocking him to the floor and crashing her lips to his. Robin brought the hand that wasn't being crushed under both of their bodies to press her closer.

When they finally broke apart for air, she burst into tears, and then their friends were there on the floor with them, and the five of them became a knotted jumble of hugging, crying, and laughing.

-T-

That night, Raven sat on the common room couch staring out at the full moon. Beast Boy was with her, his head resting lazily in her lap.

They had all just finished eating dinner, and while Robin and Starfire went off together down the hall, Cyborg offered to clean up and do the dishes. With nothing else to do, Raven drifted over to the sofa. When Beast Boy jumped across the back of the couch and lounged out across her moments after, she started, embarrassed, and seriously considered pushing him off. She never did. Why bother when they were more comfortable together than apart?

They had been sitting like this for almost a half hour when a hand shot down in front of Raven and grabbed him from off of her. She turned around to find Cyborg holding a very startled Beast Boy aloft by the scruff of his neck like a naughty puppy.

"So," Cyborg said with a wicked grin playing on his mouth, "I think it's time we talk about this."

-T-

Robin sat watching the sunset on the tower roof. He concentrated wholly on the colors reflecting off the water, numb to practically everything else. It had been a week since that night in the warehouse, and he was still grappling with it all, but right now, all he wanted to focus on was the sun as it dropped below the horizon.

The door creaked behind him and he turned to see Starfire poking her head out. "Robin? There is someone who wishes to see you."

As she disappeared, he swung his legs over to the other side of the ledge and started for the door, when Leo walked out. Robin froze.

"Hi," said Leo.

"Hi," Robin said uneasily. "How are you?"

Leo shrugged awkwardly, dodging the question. "I asked Mas and Menos if they could come pick me up and bring me here. I wanted to say…"

Robin braced himself.

"…I'm sorry."

He stared.

"I understand why you wouldn't bring me, and I just wanted to say that I feel really bad about saying all that stuff to you…that you didn't understand…"

"It's okay," Robin told him. He had a feeling his friends had something to do with this, but he couldn't say he was mad at them for telling Leo.

"But I can't forgive those people," Leo told him with a hint of defiance.

"You don't have to. I would never ask you to."

"Okay," he said after a moment.

"Okay," Robin agreed.

"Well…goodbye."

"Goodbye, Leo."

He hesitated a split second before running forward to hug Robin around the waist. "Thanks," he said quietly.

Before Robin could react he scurried back through the door and left him alone. He turned back to face out over the water.

The next time the door's hinges squeaked, it was to let out Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire. Starfire weaved through them to stand by him, taking his hand in her own. Cyborg stood at his other side while Raven and Beast Boy climbed onto the ledge to sit together by Starfire. The sun sank lower and lower, and together the Titans watched in silence until nothing was left but the indigo streaks above the churning bay.

"Robin," Starfire said as the first stars winked overhead, "are you going to be all right?"

He noticed the others were looking at him too, waiting for his answer.

Robin squeezed Starfire's hand more firmly. "I will be."

And it was enough for now.


End file.
